Willock was stretchered off in the closing stages at the Suwon World Cup Stadium, and will now miss the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign.

But Howe - whose team take on Tottenham in Seoul on Sunday - explained that the midfielder had injured his calf, rather than his Achilles, and could return in just over a month.

The Magpies' head coach faced the media ahead of the clash with Spurs and these were some of the main talking points:

On Willock's injury...

"We initially feared he could have injured part of his Achilles, but thankfully that wasn't the case. But it looks like he's got a problem with a muscle in the calf.

"So we feel the injury isn't as serious as maybe first feared, which is great news for Joe, but it's still going to keep him out for a number of weeks. How many we're not sure, but early diagnosis is looking four to six, which, although being a blow, is probably much better than the initial thought. So some positive news on Joe Willock."

On Sunday's game at the Seoul World Cup Stadium...

"It should be a really good game; two Premier League teams, two high quality teams on show, and we're hoping to build up performance levels as we go through pre-season. So we're hoping for a really good performance."

On Alexander Isak...

"I am very much removed from anything that's happening back home. I was made aware that there was a bid yesterday - that bid was turned down all before I even heard about it. There's people back in England dealing with the situation. I really don't know what's going to happen next, but from our perspective we still support Alex in every way, and my wish is still that we see him in a Newcastle shirt again."

On the transfer market...

"We're looking for the best players that we can get. Whatever our target position is, we're looking for the best so I see all situations open and available to us. I feel that's the only way that we're going to get to where we want to go, which is to maximise, and it's quality over quantity. It always has been. That's always been the way that we try to work and the way that we try to recruit, and I think we've done it pretty well to this point.

"It's been a challenging summer, because we've missed out on various targets for loads of different reasons, but we're still very competitive, and we're still in there trying to bring very good players to the club - and that won't change til the window shuts."

On Son Heung-min, who is set to play his final match for Spurs on Sunday...

"I think he's one of the legends of the Premier League. We've come up against him many times, as manager of Bournemouth early in his Tottenham career and I thought he was fantastic - his pace, his dribbling ability, his desire to score goals. I thought he was always one of the best players we played against every season.

"The biggest test, I think, for a player's ability is consistency and longevity, and he's been able to do that consistently every year. I've never spent time with him, but he seemed like an incredible professional and incredible person. So it will be a really great moment to share this last game for Tottenham against us and hopefully it's a memorable occasion."