Eddie Howe had plenty of positive injury news to share as he provided an update on six key first-team players. Kieran Trippier, Allan Saint-Maximin and Jonjo Shelvey were all absent from the starting line-up against Everton whereas Martin Dubravka and Fabian Schar returned early from international duty.
However, there were concerns over whether Callum Wilson will make a return before the end of the campaign. The Magpies’ number nine - who has not featured since December - hinted at a swift comeback on a recent podcast episode but Howe has doubts over that possibility.
The Toon boss also revealed there has been a Covid outbreak in the camp. Here is everything the Howe said regarding absences ahead of the trip to North London.
Kieran Trippier
The big news Howe revealed was that Kieran Trippier could return sooner than expected. It was feared the England right-back may miss the rest of the season with a broken metatarsal but he is making a strong recovery.
Howe said: "Kieran has a scan on his foot today to see how that's healed. Hopefully, the scan goes well and then we can push him quite quickly to get him back, so we're hoping for good news."
Allan Saint-Maximin
Saint-Maximin has not started since the 1-0 win against Aston Villa last month but made several substitute cameos before the international break. Howe confirmed the Frenchman is back in action and could be in line to start against Spurs.
"Whenever a player has time away with illness and injury it's very difficult to get them back up to speed straight away so this break has been very good for him,” he said. “He's trained very well and we're excited to see him back."
Jonjo Shelvey
Shelvey missed the two defeats to Chelsea and Everton through illness but he should be fine after travelling with the squad to Dubai. Howe said: "Jonjo has trained. He hasn't done every session because he had a bad illness but we hope he'll be OK for Sunday."
Fabian Schar
The Magpies feared the worst when Schar left the Switzerland squad early with an abductor injury. He was meant to play against England at Wembley last weekend but returned to Newcastle to prepare for Spurs.
Howe remained positive over the centre-back: "Fabian Schär came back having not trained or played but we've had a couple of sessions with him so we think he'll be fit.”
Martin Dubravka
Like Schar, Dubravka also left his national squad and returned to Tyneside early. The Slovakian suffered an illness but Howe hopes his first-choice goalkeeper will play. “Martin Dúbravka trained with us yesterday for the first time so we hope he'll be fine,” he said.
Callum Wilson
The one negative from Howe’s press conference was his alarming Wilson update. Newcastle’s top scorer has struggled with injuries since arriving at St James’ Park and there is a possibility his 2021/22 campaign is over.
The Toon boss said: “Callum is slightly behind Kieran (Trippier), but he's still making good progress. He is back on the grass running, but I still think he's got a little bit more time ahead of him. I can't say with any certainty, but I hope he'll play this season.”
On Covid
Howe revealed some of the squad have been suffering with Covid but should be recovered in time to face Tottenham: “We’ve still got a couple of days before the game so we hope everyone will be OK.”
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