Eddie Howe says £13m Newcastle player has looked really good in training ahead of Fulham

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Eddie Howe is going to be forced to make at least one change to his Newcastle United starting XI against Fulham.

That is due to suspension, with Kieran Trippier set to miss Saturday’s game at St James’ Park. He picked up his fifth yellow card of the season away to Tottenham, which means he can’t take on an in-form Fulham side.

Eddie Howe will therefore have to tweak his defence, with Tino Livramento in line to move over to the right – which is actually his preferred position.

That will create a vacancy at left-back, which initially looked like it would go to Lewis Hall, who is struggling for minutes as of late.

Those struggles now look set to continue, with Dan Burn making a shock recovery from injury during the week. He was back on the bench for the Champions League decider against AC Milan, and was brought on in the second half.

With the £13million man back in contention, it feels likely that he will start ahead of Hall, and Eddie Howe has admitted that the local lad has looked excellent in training ahead of the game against Fulham.

Eddie Howe pleased with how Dan Burn is training

Howe has spoke to the media ahead of facing Fulham, and was asked about Dan Burn’s recovery from injury after the defender admitted that he had pushed hard to return sooner than expected.

“Dan’s is more a pain management issue, his injury, rather than a reoccurrence issue,” he said.

“He’s done really well. He’s looked really good in training. He’s pain free so that is the main thing for him, and hopefully he continues to improve.”

Newcastle need another leader against Fulham with Kieran Trippier absent

With Trippier unavailable, Howe will be shy of a leader on the pitch. That is an extra reason why Burn is more likely to start ahead of Hall, even if supporters are keen to see the 19-year-old get a chance.

His time will come, but Howe will likely lean on the experience of Burn as he looks to stop the rot. Newcastle have now lost three games on the spin, including Wednesday’s devastating defeat to AC Milan that ended our European adventure.

The Magpies need to bounce back against Fulham, and Burn will be eager to get back to his best after a spell on the sidelines.

It is excellent to hear that he is pain free after such an awkward back injury, and hopefully that continues when he faces his former club on Saturday.