EDDIE Howe believes Callum Wilson is well-placed to get back to his best and play a crucial role in Newcastle United's run-in.

Wilson has only scored once for the Magpies since October and dropped out of the Newcastle team for the last two games before the international break, with Alexander Isak preferred up-front and taking his chance with crucial goals against Wolves and Nottingham Forest.

Wilson hasn't looked himself since returning from the Word Cup, but Howe says the international stoppage came at a good time and the striker used the break in play to rest and get recovered.

Howe has liked what he's seen from Wilson in training and, while the England striker is likely to again have to settle for a place on the bench against Manchester United this afternoon, the boss believes the frontman can still play a starring role in the remaining 12 games of the season as the Magpies push for European football.

He said: "I've seen Callum really use the break wisely. He rested initially and then trained and he's trained really hard and looked really good.

"He really needed a period of training and it's really difficult to do that amongst games because obviously I need players fresh to play so obviously you can't work them in the way you want them.

"There's a lot of recovery and focus on the next game, but we had a 16-game period which I think Callum has utilised. Hopefully we can get him back to his best."

READ MORE:

Manchester United cup final defeat intensified Eddie Howe's Newcastle desire

Howe hits back at 'overblown' criticism as ten Hag takes another Newcastle swipe

Manchester United have Marcus Rashford fit for this afternoon's game but will be without star midfielder Casemiro, who's suspended.

The Brazilian has been a game-changer for Erik ten Hag's side this season, with Howe admitting players with of Casemiro' calibre and with that experience are "worth their weight in gold".

He said: "Experience is a really valuable tool, I think one of the beauties of our team this season is we've had players with a mixture of experience and a bit of youth in there as well so I think that mixture is hugely important. Certainly, people who are used to winning and have the mentality to go with that are worth their weight in gold."

Asked whether he'd like more of that in his Newcastle squad, Howe said: "That's a difficult one because usually with that experience and mentality comes a price tag and that's the balance we've got to get right."