Three Newcastle United players ruled out of Bournemouth clash - and there could be more

Eddie Howe has given very little away in regards to his Newcastle United team selection against Bournemouth tonight (kick-off 7:45pm).

The Magpies head coach welcomes his former club to St James’ Park but long friendships will be momentarily put to one side with a place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup up for grabs.

Howe has said he is treating the match with similar importance to a Premier League game. The ultimate dream is to end United’s 67-year wait for a domestic trophy, so it is perhaps understandable that he wants to keep any team news under wraps.

And that is what he managed to do during Monday’s pre-match press conference, with only Alexander Isak (thigh), Paul Dummett (back) and Emil Krafth (ACL) definitely ruled out.

The Magpies welcomed back Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope, Callum Wilson, Fabian Schar and Bruno Guimaraes from World Cup duty last week, though only Trippier and Pope played in Saturday’s friendly win over Rayo Vallecano.

Guimaraes has all but confirmed he is available this evening after posting his usual matchday tweet with the caption ‘happy to be back with my team’.

Wilson, meanwhile, is “fine” according to Howe, despite reportedly picking up a minor strain with England in Qatar. Little has been said about Schar, who was forced off at half-time through illness during Switzerland’s heavy last 16 exit to Portugal.

Following the 2-1 victory against Vallecano, Howe explained why each international player is being assessed differently.

“Everybody is coming back at different times and stages with different things behind them,” Howe said. “We’re having to manage that situation and try and get the players fit as quickly as possible without putting them at risk of injury.

“It’s been a slightly unusual time for us with players coming back at different stages with different needs.”

Asked about the inclusion of the World Cup players, Howe said: “We’ll wait and see. I’ve spoken with all the international lads when they came back.

“Those conversations are important because those boys have had not just a physical load from being at the World Cup but the mental side of it can’t be underestimated. I’ll continue those conversations with the other lads and will see where we are.”

Away from those at the World Cup, Howe was asked specifically about Dan Burn, Joelinton and Miguel Almiron but again, the 45-year-old was very coy: "Wait and see when we announce the team."

Allan Saint-Maximin, meanwhile, picked up a “slight injury” against Vallecano but it’s hoped he can quickly shake it off.