Newcastle United forward Miguel Almiron had to come off in Paraguay’s game against Peru and sustained what his country’s FA have called a ‘muscular contracture’

Miguel Almiron suffered a muscle issue during Paraguay’s draw against Peru – but national team boss Guillermo Barros Schelotto has insisted the Newcastle United forward is ‘fine’.

Almiron pulled up in the closing stages of the 0-0 stalemate at the Estadio Antonio Aranda on Thursday night. Almiron went down late on in the World Cup qualifier and had to come off after receiving treatment on the field.

Paraguay, as a result, saw the game out with 10 men, but it was easy to see why Almiron could not continue. The wincing 29-year-old looked in agony as he hobbled off and even covered his face with his hand at one point in what will have been a worrying moment for Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe.

The Paraguayan Football Association have since issued the following statement to the press: “The medical team of the national team informs that the player, Miguel Almiron, presented a sustained muscular contracture during the game with Peru. The player is on recovery tasks. According to the evolution [of his recovery], he will be subjected to further auxiliary studies.”

Almiron has not yet been ruled out of Tuesday’s game against Venezuela and Schelotto previously attempted to allay any injury fears. In fact, the Paraguay boss even said he hoped Almiron could yet feature in his side’s next qualifier on Tuesday night.

“He’s fine, very tired, cramped,” Schelotto told reporters the night before the Paraguay FA’s statement. “It’s his first game, he had a long trip, he didn’t have much recovery time and the commitment they have forces them to give everything. He doesn’t have an injury. I hope he can recover and play against Venezuela.”

Newcastle will be kept abreast of developments in the coming days as Howe prepares his side for a huge game against Brentford next Saturday. Howe is currently working with a smaller group after the majority of his squad jetted off on international duty following last week’s defeat at Brighton.

Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, Sean Longstaff, Anthony Gordon, Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes are among those players who have been put through their paces at Newcastle’s training base in recent days. Barnes or Murphy would be primed to come into the starting line-up if Almiron is not 100%.