Eddie Howe calls up 18-year-old to first-team training ahead of clash with Tottenham on Saturday

Eddie Howe is not averse to calling upon his youth players to get involved in first-team training to see if they're close to making their Newcastle United debut.

That process has been vital this season as the Newcastle gaffer has had to fill his bench with largely unknown players with so many first-team injuries affecting the squad.

Youngster Lewis Miley, who made his debut in the final game of last season, had quickly become a mainstay in the first-team due to so many injuries - now he finds himself on the casualty list himself.

Ben Parkinson, Amadou Diallo Alex Murphy and Joe White have all found themselves making their senior debuts this season to help out.

Serena Taylor via Newcastle United

Cathal Heffernan could be the next youngster to get called up

Now, from the latest round of training images on the club's official website, we have caught a glimpse of another youngster who could be in line for a spot on the bench.

18-year-old Irishman Cathal Heffernan, signed from AC Milan in the summer, has been pictured in training with the first-team.

Of course, being called up to training doesn't mean he'll be in the matchday squad on Saturday. We've seen Alfie Harrison in the training gallery before but we're still waiting to see his name on the team sheet.

There's a lot of talent in Newcastle's youth set-up

However, it does show that the future is bright with so many youngsters deemed capable enough of joining the first-team in training.

With Yankuba Minteh and Garang Kuol to come back at the end of this season too, the Magpies are growing quite a crop of young talent that's on the verge of senior action.

Given that Newcastle have so many defenders missing at the moment, Heffernan stands a good chance of being given a spot on the bench on Saturday, but we'll have to wait and see.