Early team news from Eddie Howe - Update on two players ahead of Fulham clash
Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media this morning, offering an update on injuries and availability.
Newcastle United are back at St James' Park this weekend, taking on Marco Silva's Fulham in Saturday's 3pm kick-off after last week's 3-1 victory at Southampton made it 10 wins in our last 11.
Here's what the boss has had to say, discussing two players working their way back from recent injuries.
Howe issues Wilson and Barnes update
Eddie Howe has revealed that Callum Wilson has a chance of returning for next week's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at home to Arsenal.
Our No.9 has featured in parts of training this week, stepping up his recovery from a hamstring issue that has kept him out of our last eight league games.
As for Barnes, who injured his thigh in our FA Cup win over Bromley, Howe confirmed that the winger is a 'little behind' Wilson and looks to be 'two to three weeks away.'
“Callum is getting there, we have seen him in training this week. He’s not been involved in all of the session but part of it, there is no plan to involve him this week but chance for games coming up after.
Discussing Barnes, Howe added: “Harvey is a little behind, he is maybe two to three weeks away.”
Elsewhere, Jamaal Lascelles remains a long-term absentee after a slow recovery from ACL surgery, with the centre-back unlikely to return until March.
Two selection dilemmas for Howe
With Nick Pope fit again and Sven Botman left on the bench last weekend, Howe has a few big calls to make against Fulham.
Fabian Schar was a little sloppy at Southampton and may be at risk, although we don't expect Martin Dubravka to drop out of the side just yet after an impressive run of form over the past six weeks.
Discussing Fulham this morning, Howe added: "When you play Fulham, you can see their qualities, they are very brave with every aspect, with and without the ball.
"They have added some players that have made their team very competitive, they were very impressive against us. We know this will be a tough game and we will never underestimate Fulham."
