Eddie Howe drops Newcastle United selection hint ahead of Everton game

Howe’s side are sixth in the Premier League ahead of Wednesday night’s home game. The fixture is followed by an away match against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

And Howe – who confirmed injury setbacks for Allan Saint-Maximin and Alexander Isak after yesterday’s goalless draw against Manchester United – wants to make changes, though he has limited options.

Asked if he’ll be thinking about changes this week, Howe said: “I think, yeah, we’d love to probably make more changes than we’re able to at the moment due to being stretched as a squad.

"The problem is when your injured players don’t come back in the timescales they should, you’re going to get fresh injuries.

"It’s part of the game. Then the situation looks pretty difficult. Touch wood, we can keep the majority of our players fit through this busy period, and then get some strength back very soon.”

Howe revealed after the game that Isak, signed for £60million in the summer, may not feature before the World Cup, which kicks off on November 20.

Saint-Maximin has suffered a setback after making his return from a hamstring injury against Brentford.

“Huge blows for us," said head coach Eddie Howe. “They’re both very different cases.

"Maxi’s got a very slight irritation of his hamstring. On its own, that would be probably a few days out, but, because it’s the third time he’s done it, we’re going to have to be very careful with his return to play.

"That’s a blow, and Alex has just re-injured his thigh. It’s a similar injury to the first one he picked up with Sweden. He’s going to be out for a while. We probably won’t see him before we break for the World Cup.”

Howe named Jonjo Shelvey on his bench at Old Trafford. The midfielder had suffered a hamstring injury in pre-season.

"He’s at the very early stages of being fit and available,” said Howe. “I didn’t want to risk him at all, so it was a very cautious approach with him at the moment.