Eddie Howe has admitted that centre-back Fabian Schar and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka should be fit to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday despite the Newcastle United duo pulling out of their respective international squads.
According to The Athletic, Schar withdrew from the Switzerland squad due to a groin problem while Dubravka withdrew from the Slovakia squad after going down with an illness.
Howe confirmed that both players are expected to feature against Spurs on Sunday while Jonjo Shelvey, who missed the Magpies’ defeats at Chelsea and Everton, will also be available for the clash.
The Newcastle head coach also said that he was hopeful that Allan Saint-Maximin is close to full fitness following the two-week break.
Howe told The Athletic: “Fabian came back having not played and not trained, but we’ve had a couple of sessions with him so we think he’ll be fit. Martin trained with us for the first time yesterday, so we think he’ll be fine.
“We’ve got a little bit of illness in the camp, probably as most teams do around the country, but we’ve still got a couple of days before the game so we hope we’ll be OK.
“We had a little bit of COVID during the break, with players and staff, as most teams did, but it’s under control.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“Jonjo has trained, he hasn’t trained every session we’ve done because he had a bad bout of illness, but we hope he’ll be OK.”
Howe revealed that former Tottenham man Kieran Trippier has undergone a scan to determine whether he will be fit to make a return in the near future, and admitted that he is optimistic about the right-back’s chances.
However, the former Bournemouth boss admitted that Callum Wilson has not recovered in time to feature against the Lillywhites.
He added: “Kieran has a scan today on his foot to see how that’s healed, so hopefully that scan goes well and, from this day, maybe we can push him quite quickly to get back. Hopefully, we get good news.
“Callum is slightly behind Kieran, 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.”
Spurs Web Opinion
With the exception of Wilson, Newcastle will be able to put out a full-strength side on Sunday. So, it certainly will not be a walkover for us. One thing that could play into our hands is the fact that Howe sets his teams up to create chances rather than to sit deep and absorb pressure.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
