Newcastle United handed double boost ahead of Bournemouth as two key players provide updates

Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar have returned to Newcastle following spells at the World Cup in Qatar with Brazil and Switzerland respectively.

The pair returned to Tyneside last week along with England stars Callum Wilson, Kieran Trippier and Nick Pope. Trippier and Pope featured in Saturday’s 2-1 friendly win over Rayo Vallecano while Wilson, Schar and Guimaraes missed out along with 13 other first-team players.

Ahead of the match, head coach Eddie Howe gave little away regarding his potential team selection.

“We’ll wait and see,” he said during his pre-match press conference. “I’ve spoke with all of the international players when they came back.

“Kieran and Nick were very keen to play in the game and those conversations are important because those boys have had not just a physical load but a mental load from being at the World Cup. The mental side can’t be underestimated so I will continue those conversations and we’ll see where we are.”

But Schar, who is celebrating his 31st birthday, suggested he could be involved in the matchday squad this evening as he tweeted: “Thank you all! See you tonight.”

And Bruno Guimaraes tweeted a matchday preview along with the caption: “Happy to be back with my team.”

Trippier and Pope are also likely to be involved while Howe said that Wilson is ‘fine’ ahead of the match though Chris Wood is expected to lead the line once again.