'Unclear' - Fresh Newcastle United fitness concern v AC Milan - former Liverpool man poised for surprise start

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe was keen to give little away on the injury front ahead of Wednesday night's match against AC Milan in the Champions League (8pm kick-off).

The Magpies host Milan at St James' Park needing to win and Paris Saint-Germain to drop points at Borussia Dortmund in order to progress to the last-16 of the competition. After welcoming Sean Longstaff and Callum Wilson back from injury on Sunday, Howe cast uncertainty over certain members of his squad ahead of the Champions League decider.

Martin Dubravka, Longstaff and Anthony Gordon were all missing for the brief training session in front of the media on Tuesday morning after featuring at Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend. But Howe was giving little away when it came to his available players.

When asked if anything should be read into the players absent from training, Howe said: "Yes and no, you can read whatever you want into it. We're two days after a game so we're obviously trying to manage players and we'll see who is fit for tomorrow. I've just given you nothing there!"

And when pressed on whether Dubravka would start in goal on Wednesday evening, Howe said: "That is slightly unclear."

Dubravka is understood to have been nursing a back issue with Howe confirming he took 'a couple of knocks' during the 3-0 defeat at Everton on Thursday night. Loris Karius would come into the side in Dubravka's absence but Howe admitted playing a third goalkeeper in the space of four matches would not be an ideal situation for his side.

"It's not a position I want to rotate to be honest," he added. "The team benefits from having a settled goalkeeper and back four, that's always been my way of working with my defensive structure. But let's see what tomorrow brings."

It would be Karius' first Champions League appearance since the 2018 final with Liverpool. The German made two errors in the match which saw Real Madrid claim a 3-1 win.

Elsewhere in Newcastle's squad, Dan Burn is understood to be closing in on a return from injury along with Sven Botman, Joe Willock and Harvey Barnes. But Howe could not confirm whether any players would be back involved against AC Milan.

"I'm not sure," Howe said when asked if any players would be back.