Eddie Howe has been sweating on the fitness of two former England internationals heading into Newcastle United's game against West Ham United tonight - kick-off is at 8pm live on Sky Sports.
Callum Wilson hasn't been available all season and despite being led to believe he was close to a return weeks ago, we've still not seen his name on a team sheet at all since the 2024/25 campaign got underway.
Heading into the international break, Eddie Howe told reporters that he was going to push Wilson's return until after the break to give him that extra time to recover.
Yet, on Friday, Howe hinted that Wilson may still not be available for tonight's game.
Meanwhile, Kieran Trippier, who has also been out for the last five matches, was said to be closer to a return than Wilson.
That's something that Trippier has now teased himself to be true. Posting an image on his Instagram reel showing him in action alongside the crests of Newcastle and West Ham along with the date and time of today's fixture.
It's a pretty strong hint that the recently retired England international is expecting to be involved in some way tonight, even if it is just occupying a spot on the bench.
Tino Livramento has filled in so well in Trippier's absence that he's now taken his spot in the England set-up, so it would be pretty cruel for Tino to be dropped in favour of Trippier tonight.
Tripps may get some minutes under his belt later on, but we don't expect him to start after a five-game absence.
We'd also not be shocked to see Callum Wilson on the bench tonight.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
13 | 18 | 34 |
2 |
Arsenal
|
13 | 12 | 25 |
3 |
Chelsea
|
13 | 12 | 25 |
4 |
Brighton
|
13 | 5 | 23 |
5 |
Manchester City
|
13 | 3 | 23 |
6 |
Nottingham Forest
|
13 | 3 | 22 |
7 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
13 | 14 | 20 |
8 |
Brentford
|
13 | 3 | 20 |
9 |
Manchester United
|
13 | 4 | 19 |
10 |
Fulham
|
13 | 0 | 19 |
11 |
Newcastle United
|
13 | 0 | 19 |
12 |
Aston Villa
|
13 | -3 | 19 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
13 | 1 | 18 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
13 | -7 | 15 |
15 |
Everton
|
13 | -11 | 11 |
16 |
Leicester
|
13 | -11 | 10 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
13 | -7 | 9 |
18 |
Wolves
|
13 | -10 | 9 |
19 |
Ipswich
|
13 | -11 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
13 | -15 | 5 |