Eddie Howe says he must get the balance right when it comes to handing his World Cup stars a return date. On a dramatic weekend of action in Qatar, the hopes of Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson were all dashed in the quarter-finals of the tournament against France while Bruno Guimaraes will also be heading home after Brazil lost to Croatia.
Howe knows the clock is ticking towards Newcastle's League Cup last 16 tie against AFC Bournemouth. But as yet he is not certain if the World Cup players - including Fabian Schar of Switzerland - will be close to being involved.
When asked about his international brigade, Howe said: "I think we'll take it on an individual basis because it's a difficult one to predict. Of course, we don't know how long the players will stay involved in the World Cup so that has a bearing.
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"Then, the individual player, how much football they've played at World Cup could potentially have a bearing. Speaking to all the players, I know they're very keen to come back and join us very quickly but of course, we have to have the balance right.
"We don't want to fatigue players mentally probably more than physically going into the second half of the season. At some stage, we will probably need to give them a break. When that is, I don't know."
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