Howe issues update on 6 Mags ahead of West Ham - 4 in contention, 5 ruled out?

Eddie Howe has issued an update on the fitness front ahead of tomorrow's clash with West Ham at St James' Park.

Following the international break and our warm-weather trip to Dubai, he's revealed that it's "possible" that Harvey Barnes, Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento return for tomorrow's game after missing our FA Cup defeat at Man City.

Martin Dubravka is "fine" despite withdrawing from the Slovakia squad for personal reasons and it's "still unclear" exactly what injury Lewis Miley has suffered after he returned from England U20 duty with a back problem.

Howe also revealed that Sven Botman decided not to have knee surgery in September when medical staff advised he should. However, his operation on the ACL injury "went well" as he prepares for rehab.

On Botman, Howe said: "A big blow. It’s a complex story. Initial he had a partial tear. The medical team advised surgery at the time. We saw specialist opinion and there was conflicting reports on what he should do next. He himself wanted to carry on playing, but he has then aggravated that issue. It’s the players’ bodies and their final decision.

"You can't force a player to have an operation no matter what an opinion may be internally...Sven was very certain in his mind what he wanted to do. He has a long period of rehab ahead of him and we wish him well and hope he comes back in a good place."

Elsewhere, Joelinton, Callum Wilson and Nick Pope remain out and are unlikely to return until the final few weeks of the season, at best.