Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimarães has described the saga surrounding Alexander Isak's future as a "tough situation" and said the team are "really missing" their star striker.
Isak wasn't involved on Monday as Newcastle suffered a late 3-2 defeat to Liverpool, with the Sweden international currently agitating for a move away from St James' Park.
Isak was the subject of a rejected £110 million ($148.76m) bid from Liverpool earlier this month and has his sights set on a transfer to Anfield, though Newcastle remain set on keeping the 25-year-old on Tyneside.
"I haven't had any contact with him," Guimarães told ESPN Brasil after the game. "We've been training in the mornings, and he trains at a different time, when no one from the team is around.
"As captain, and for us as players, it's a tough situation because we want to have the best players with us. But that's something we can't control -- the club, the management, the owners are dealing with it, and I hope it gets sorted out in the best way.
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He added: "We're really missing our striker, a player who scored more than 20 goals in the Premier League last season, so of course he's someone we feel the absence of. We hope to have our best player back, but unfortunately this is a situation that neither I nor any other player can control."
Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan flew in for the game against Liverpool amid reports that a delegation held talks with Isak, with a view to reintegrating him into the side.
"I'm not party to the talks that have been happening, so I've got no idea where that stands," Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said.
