Newcastle United duo tease injury return as Eddie Howe drops hint ahead of Tottenham Hotspur clash

Newcastle United hope to have some players back from injury for Sunday afternoon's Premier League trip to Tottenham Hotspur (kick-off 4:30pm).

The Magpies were once again without several senior stars for Thursday's clash at Everton, which ended in a 3-0 defeat following second-half goals from Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Bebo.

Eddie Howe named the same starting XI for the fourth match in a row except for Nick Pope, who was replaced by Martin Dubravaka after dislocating his shoulder in Saturday's 1-0 win over Manchester United. Pope has undergone surgery and will be sidelined for around four months.

A weakened bench including two goalkeepers, three under-21s players, plus Paul Dummett, Matt Ritchie, Emil Krafth and Lewis Hall, has impacted Howe's ability to make changes and impact games in running.

But the Magpies' head coach is hopeful of getting some bodies back for the visit to North London in two days time.

"The players who are injured at the moment were working today at the training ground so I'm hopeful we can get some support," Howe revealed after the Toffees defeat.

He added: "That's the beauty of football, you always have another game [to respond]. Of course, we have another game in a few days and that's the schedule we have in December.

"It's a really big ask for the players. We are desperate to get some players back that can make a difference. Hopefully, that will happen. But of course there are no guarantees."

Among the players to tease a potential return this week are Sean Longstaff and Sven Botman.

Posting to X almost 48 hours after the win over Man United, Longstaff said: "What a performance from the lads Hope you enjoyed your weekend Mags and full focus now on Thursday!" Meanwhile, Botman uploaded to Instagram with the caption "last few steps".

Newcastle have been without Longstaff for the last four matches after he sustained an ankle injury in the 2-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth. Botman's absence has been much longer with the Dutchman's last appearance the 8-0 win at Sheffield United in September.

The club's injury situation is expected to improve significantly before the New Year with Callum Wilson, Harvey Barnes, Joe Willock and possibly even Dan Burn on track to return.