Newcastle United double injury boost as £70m spotted duo ahead of West Ham United clash

Newcastle United have been handed a double injury boost for this afternoon's Premier League clash at home to West Ham United with Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento back in the squad.

Barnes amissed the previous matches two defeats away to Chelsea and Manchester City with a hamstring, while Livramento missed the latter fixture with an ankle knock.

The duo, as captured by NewcastleWorld, have been spotted arriving at St James' Park ahead of the match against the Hammers, which gets underway at 12:30pm.

Kieran Trippier remains absence with a calf injury, despite arriving at St James' Park through the players' entrance.

Saturday lunchtime’s meeting with West Ham offers Howe and his players an opportunity to close the gap on one of their main contenders for a place in Europe. 

The Hammers will arrive on Tyneside four points and three places above Newcastle - but Howe is confident his side can shine as they return to St James Park for the first time since a 3-0 win against Wolves earlier this month.

“We want to close that gap,” admitted Howe. “They’re a very difficult team to play against, a very dangerous team, they’ve done well in European competition and they’ve found some good Premier League form during the season.  They’ve got some dangerous players.  But we are back at home, it feels like a long time since we have played at St James Park.  We left on a good note on our last game there and we are desperate to pick that up again.”