Eddie Howe's spiky reply when asked if £12m Newcastle United star will be involved v Bournemouth

Newcastle United are set to make a late decision on whether Jacob Murphy will be involved against AFC Bournemouth this afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

The 28-year-old was named on the bench for last weekend's 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest but Eddie Howe described the winger as "unusable" because of a tight calf felt in the warm-up.

Asked if Murphy will feature in the squad against the Cherries, Howe replied: “You need to listen to my words here.. he has not trained yet.” 

Howe's spiky response comes after the mix-up surrounding Anthony Gordon last week. Some outlets reported that the former Everton man was ruled out for the trip to the City Ground, only for him to be named in the starting XI.

The Magpies' boss said prior to the game: “He hasn’t trained this week. We don’t think the injury is serious. We’re hopeful he’ll be back sooner rather than later."

Asked if he knew when Gordon would return to training, Howe added: "Not at this moment, slightly unclear."

Howe conducted his morning press conference at 9am before Gordon trained later in the afternoon.

Speaking after the Forest win, Howe explained: "He did a real shift for the team today. I didn't tell any lies pre-match, he hadn't trained until the day that I did my press conference where he did train, and trained well.

"But still, when you have a disjointed week, it's not easy at this level but I thought he did very well."

Gordon could lead the line when United take on Bournemouth this afternoon with Alexander Isak a doubt and Callum Wilson ruled out for nine to 12 weeks with a pectoral injury.