While Eddie Howe doesn't have a full squad to choose from going into tomorrow's Premier League game with Southampton, the Newcastle United boss did have some good news on the injury front.
Speaking to the media this morning in his press conference which was streamed via the Newcastle United app, Eddie Howe confirmed that while some players aren't quite at 100% in terms of fitness and match sharpness, he is happy that he's got a good crop of players to pick from.
He did suggest that due to the injuries carried over into the summer, plus Callum Wilson, that everyone fit will likely be in the squad tomorrow with few spare, but there was one man who looked like a potential doubt who will in fact be fit.
It'll be no real surprise to any Newcastle fans, but Fabian Schar has shrugged off the whack he took during the Sela Cup game against Brest last Saturday.
Newcastle's Cyborg always seems to be able to recover from injuries in time for the club's next game and doesn't seem to lose a step.
Schar hobbled off the St James' Park pitch last week giving a cause for concern and Eddie Howe told reporters this morning that he was feeling the effects in training for a couple of days but believes he'll be fit for tomorrow.
"We're hopeful Fabian will be okay. He felt the impact of the tackle earlier in the week but we're hopeful he will be fine."
Howe will have a couple of choices to make for his starting XI tomorrow, especially with a few players not quite up to speed.
The best way to get those players back up to speed, you'd think, is to give them game time, so we don't think there'll be any big surprises in the line-up.
We'll be posting our line-up prediction later today, but if you want to try your hand at one, our app has a handy line-up builder that you can use.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
21 | 30 | 50 |
2 |
Arsenal
|
22 | 22 | 44 |
3 |
Nottingham Forest
|
22 | 11 | 44 |
4 |
Chelsea
|
22 | 17 | 40 |
5 |
Manchester City
|
22 | 15 | 38 |
6 |
Newcastle United
|
22 | 12 | 38 |
7 |
Bournemouth
|
22 | 10 | 37 |
8 |
Aston Villa
|
22 | -1 | 36 |
9 |
Brighton
|
22 | 5 | 34 |
10 |
Fulham
|
22 | 4 | 33 |
11 |
Brentford
|
22 | 1 | 28 |
12 |
Crystal Palace
|
22 | -3 | 27 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
22 | -5 | 26 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
22 | -16 | 26 |
15 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
22 | 10 | 24 |
16 |
Everton
|
21 | -10 | 20 |
17 |
Wolves
|
22 | -19 | 16 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
22 | -23 | 16 |
19 |
Leicester
|
22 | -25 | 14 |
20 |
Southampton
|
22 | -35 | 6 |