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Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Wolves at Molineux (kick-off 14:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
- Fabian Schar had "successful" surgery on his ankle injury on Thursday and, while it is difficult to give a definitive date for his return, Howe believes it will be about three months.
- Howe is "desperately disappointed" for Tino Livramento whose "out of the blue" injuries have dented his international aspirations, and from whose versatility Newcastle would really benefit at the moment.
- There will probably be a period where Jacob Murphy will be out of action – another scan showed no serious problems.
- Will Osula will be training "imminently" and Dan Burn is "improving" as they continue their recoveries from injuries.
- Howe acknowledged the "fatigue" in their performance against Manchester City: “It don’t think it was us at our physical absolute best, but I understand the load the players have been under.”
- Howe said mixing up the team with respect to preventing fatigue is a "delicate balancing act" as there is a risk of losing rhythm.
- The game against bottom club Wolves is "massive", Howe said, for keeping up their momentum: "We need to make sure that we are mentally in our best place because this is such an important game and we can't take anybody lightly."
- On Anthony Elanga, he cited Joelinton and Anthony Gordon as examples of other players who have not immediately found their feet at the club: "He'll need a bit of time to find his best form, but I'm confident he'll get there."
- On January transfers: "It's very fluid. We're still in that watching, holding pattern."
- He added: "PSR is constantly changing because of our income. Lots of things affect our income. If there is money to spend, the club is willing to spend it. There's not a case of anyone holding anything back – but we have to comply with the [PSR] rules."
- On VAR: "I'm so torn. There's that innocence to a goal that I really like. Now whenever we score, my first thought is always 'is there something wrong with it?' and then you lose the instantaneous emotion that you get – and that's a real shame. I see the benefits of VAR, so I'm very much on the fence. I was initially very negative, but for the supporters – which for me are the most important part of the game – the game is much better without it."
- On Yoane Wissa who, amid a busy match schedule, has not had much of an opportunity to build fitness in training: "There's no substitute for a pre-season. He always gets himself into goalscoring positions, and over time we back him to score."
Listen to a portion of Howe’s press conference on BBC Sounds
Listen to live commentary of Wolves v Newcastle on BBC Radio 5 Live from 14:00 GMT on Sunday
Follow all of Friday’s Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day’s football news
