Eddie Howe confirms late Newcastle United fitness test before Crystal Palace with trio to return

Eddie Howe is set to rotate his Newcastle United squad for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup match against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night (7:45pm kick-off).
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Newcastle will be looking to progress to the fourth round of the competition in front of a record League Cup crowd at St James’s Park. Howe’s side have won their last four Premier League matches and head into the game on the back of a 4-1 win at Southampton on Sunday.

During the game, striker Callum Wilson was withdrawn at half-time in the match after suffering with illness. Wilson is expected to be rested for the Palace match but will be assessed in training on Tuesday.

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"Callum is okay,” Howe said. “He's been feeling an illness for a few days. A little bit run down, we'll see how he is today.”

Miguel Almiron of Newcastle United celebrates his goal with fellow Newcastle United players during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Newcastle United at Friends Provident St. Mary's Stadium on November 06, 2022 in Southampton, England. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)Miguel Almiron of Newcastle United celebrates his goal with fellow Newcastle United players during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Newcastle United at Friends Provident St. Mary's Stadium on November 06, 2022 in Southampton, England. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Miguel Almiron of Newcastle United celebrates his goal with fellow Newcastle United players during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Newcastle United at Friends Provident St. Mary's Stadium on November 06, 2022 in Southampton, England. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Kieran Trippier also had an injury scare at St Mary’s after leaving the pitch at half-time holding his hamstring. But the England right-back came out in the second half and grabbed an assist before being withdrawn in the closing stages.

“No problems with Kieran,” Howe confirmed. “I think it always looks probably more than it is when the physios come onto the pitch but when he came out second half and he was fine. It was my decision to take him off.”

When asked if there were any fresh injury concerns, the Newcastle head coach added: “Not as far as I know.

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"We've got a combination of a few situations and we've got a lot of players that are really eager to play and show their qualities. We do have a number of games this week and a very tight turnaround, six-days, three games.

"We will try and make the right call for the team while also acknowledging we are desperate to progress in the competition so I've got to make those choices and get that balance of the team right.”

Elliot Anderson, Jonjo Shelvey and Allan Saint-Maximin could also be in line to start after their respective injury issues. Shelvey is yet to start a match this season while Anderson and Saint-Maximin haven’t started a game since August.

“They're quality players and of course they come into contention as do the others who haven't played as much due to the form of the team being so good and my team selection being consistent based on those good performances. We've got a lot of players who are desperate to play.

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Howe continued: “[Anderson] is one of a number of players pushing, if you look at the squad we picked for Southampton and the players who didn't start, there's a lot of quality there and players who have done very well historically in the team.

"I've got no doubt about their ability to come in and do well when given the opportunity. It's a great position to be in.”

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Howe will be looking to make history at Newcastle and become the first manager to win a trophy for the club since 1969.

“The league form is of course so important to us but we want to do well in every competition and try and get the best representation of ourselves,” he admitted. “I said very early days here that my dream is to win something here at Newcastle.”