EDDIE HOWE is confident Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson will be ready to represent England if selected for this summer’s Nations League matches – and is hoping the Newcastle United duo make the cut for this winter’s World Cup finals in Qatar.

Trippier and Wilson both ended lengthy injury lay-offs when they left the bench as second-half substitutes in last weekend’s defeat at Manchester City, and will be hoping to return to the starting line-up when Newcastle play their final home game of the season against Champions League-chasing Arsenal tomorrow.

The pair’s return to action has given them a chance of featuring in Gareth Southgate’s squad for this summer’s Nations League games, with England due to tackle an away double-header against Hungary and Germany at the start of June before hosting Italy and Hungary later in the month.

Neither has played much football since the turn of the year, but having watched them in training last week, Howe is confident they will be back up to full speed by the time the international matches roll around.

 “I’ve no doubt that, physically, they’ll be ready for those dates,” said the Magpies manager. “They’re two outstanding players, and I’ve got no doubts at all about either of them being physically ready to play this summer, in their current state.”

Last summer, Trippier was an integral part of the England squad that made it to the final of the European Championships. The full-back started England’s opening group game against Croatia and the first knockout match with Germany, and after coming off the bench in the wins over Ukraine and Denmark, was restored to the starting side for the final with Italy.

He was handed the captain’s armband in his most recent international outing – the 5-0 win in Andorra in October – and while there is intense competition at right-back from the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James and Kyle Walker, he will hope to secure a place in the squad for the World Cup in Qatar, which begins in November.

The most recent of Wilson’s four senior caps came in October 2019, so he is less likely to be featuring in the World Cup finals, but with a number of England’s strikers having been struggling this season, there are still squad places up for grabs. The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Patrick Bamford and Ollie Watkins have all been either inconsistent or injured this term, giving Southgate something of a selection headache.

Howe certainly thinks Wilson should be part of the conversation, and would love to see his two England internationals featuring in Qatar.

“What would it mean to me if they made it to the World Cup? It would mean that they’re happy, and my priority is always my players and making sure that they’re happy and reaching their potential,” he said.

“I know that they’ve been very proud to have represented their country, and I know they’re very passionate about it and want to do it again in the future.”

Wilson was on the sidelines for almost five months after suffering calf and Achilles damage during December’s draw with Manchester United.

The 30-year-old has struggled with injury issues throughout his Newcastle career, but Howe is confident he has fully recovered from his latest problem and sees no reason why he should not be able to remain injury-free next season.

“It’s very difficult to make judgements or statements on a player’s fitness because the game is so unpredictable, but Callum has looked very, very good since he’s come back from his injury,” said Howe. “He’s training really well, and has put a lot of work in to get to this point, a huge amount of it with the sports science team.

“He has looked really sharp physically, so we’re very pleased. Sometimes, you see players come back from injury and you’re thinking it is going to take him a while to get to where he needs to be, but with Callum this time, I think he looks very sharp.”

Newcastle are set to recruit at least one new striker this summer, with Benfica’s Darwin Nunez known to be a leading target, but a fully-fit Wilson should still be a potent weapon next term.

Despite having missed a huge chunk of the campaign, he is still the Magpies’ leading scorer this term, with six Premier League goals, and his record of 18 goals in 37 league starts for the club means he averages a goal every other game.

“Callum lives to score goals,” said Howe. “It’s part of his fabric, and has always been that way. Having known the player for a long, long time, the way he trains and plays, his whole mindset, is about, ‘How can I score?’ And if he doesn’t, he is hugely disappointed in himself.

“That is what you need in a goalscorer, you need that mindset. He certainly has not lost that, from what I’ve seen.”