Sunderland travel to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United on Sunday

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has confirmed that Sandro Tonali and Joe Willock are likely to be fully fit for Sunday's Tyne-Wear derby at St James' Park.

However, Howe has ruled youngster Lewis Miley out of the game as he continues his recovery from a muscle injury. Miley suffered a dead leg that led to some muscle damage, and has been absent since late January. The midfielder had been targeting Wednesday night's Champions League last sixteen second leg against Barcelona for his comeback, but at his pre-match press conference Howe confirmed that he had not travelled and would not be ready for Sunderland's visit on Sunday.

However, both Tonali and Joe Willock (who came off the second half of the 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday with a knock) have travelled and could be involved at Spotify Camp Nou tomorrow.

"We'll have a look at him today," Howe said of Tonali.

"Today is the first day we've seen him so it's an opportunity, hopefully for him to train if he feels strong enough and then we'll make a decision on tomorrow. Joe Willock has travelled with us [as well]. We'll look at him in training today, and fingers crossed he'll be fine.

"Lewis isn't with the squad, unfortunately. He's trained at home today so we're probably looking at the other side of the international break for him - it's just taking a bit longer than we'd hoped."

Ahead of the two crucial games for Newcastle, Howe said that was happier than he has been at any stage this season and that he hoped his side were now reaching their peak.

"We are as confident as we have been at any point in the season," Howe said.

"It’s the happiest I have been at any stage. Hopefully we are peaking at the right time."

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Speaking after the 1-0 defeat to Brighton, Le Bris revealed that Wilson Isidor was managing a minor knock in addition to his other multiple concerns for the game.

“It wasn't possible [to bring Wilson on] because he got an injury,” Le Bris said.

“We were really on the edge. We were cautious. We could have pushed him, but it was risky. Rather than taking risks, it was the case for Brian as well. Brian can go all the way, but because we pushed until the end rather than keeping 65-70 minutes because it was the load expected, we can lose another player.

“At the minute, we are struggling a bit. We are just on the edge, but we try our best to keep the team safe. Dan had discomfort with his hamstring, so we hope it isn't too serious. We expect Enzo to be ready for Newcastle, it might be possible. For Nilson, we'll have to wait at least four to six weeks. Reinildo will train with us tomorrow [Sunday], so that's good news. Nordi is getting better, we'll see for next week. It's always the same: you can take the risk, he might play against Newcastle, but if we lose him for eight weeks after, it doesn't make sense. We are always on the edge so we'll try to manage the situation properly.”

Robin Roefs is also a major doubt with a hamstring issue, with Melker Ellborg on standby to continue in goal if he does not recover in time.

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