Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media this morning, offering an update on injuries and suspensions as we prepare to face Brentford in tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final at St James’ Park.

The good news is that there are no fresh injuries to report since Saturday’s 4-0 win over Leicester, although one player will be missing through suspension.

After picking up yellow cards in previous rounds against Wimbledon and Chelsea, Sean Longstaff will sit this one out, with Howe feeling it’s “slightly strange” how the booking system works.

However, we have options in midfield, as the boss confirms Joelinon (banned for Saturday’s trip to Ipswich but not tomorrow night), Joe Willock and Lewis Miley are all available. The latter played 45 minutes for the U21s last night and will feature on Wednesday.

Joining Longstaff on the sidelines will be Nick Pope (knee), Callum Wilson (hamstring), Emil Krafth (collarbone) and Jamaal Lascelles (ACL).

The game will also come too soon for Sven Botman, who “looked good” in his 60-minute runout for the U21s last night but will need “two or three” more games to “get his rhythm back” before returning to first-team football at the end of the month or early January.

Howe’s quotes on injuries, suspension and Sven Botman

Here’s some of the key quotes from Howe’s pre-match press conference this morning:

Howe on Botman’s return last night – “I don’t know how he is this morning but he was good last night. We exchanged messages after the game, he seemed in a really good place.

“He looked good on the pitch. His movement was good, he was typical Sven – commanding & a big presence on the pitch. We’ve missed him but there’s still a way to go until he returns to us.

“I think we were looking right to the end of December, beginning of January, that’s the plan and we’re still on track with the plan.

“I think the length of time that he’s been out ideally he needs two to three, maybe even more games, to get his rhythm back.”