Both Trippier and Willock were absent from Newcastle United’s matchday squad for this afternoon’s 2-0 win over Chelsea.
Trippier is struggling with a calf injury, while Willock is nursing a thigh injury, and neither was able to take part in full training last week.
It is hoped they might be able to step up their recovery ahead of next weekend, but with next Sunday’s trip to Arsenal preceding a final-day meeting with Everton, Howe admits the duo face a battle to feature again before the end of the season.
“We don’t think they’re big injuries, but there’s such a short amount of time left now before the end of the season,” said the Newcastle boss, who watched goals from Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes lift the Magpies above Manchester City into third position.
“We’d love to get them back fit, and able to play a part, but at this moment in time, I’ve not really got any idea whether or not that’s possible.”
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With Trippier and Willock unavailable, Howe changed formation for today’s game with Sven Botman coming back into the side to form a three-man central-defensive line alongside Dan Burn and Fabian Schar.
Botman was making his first appearance since injuring his knee in early February, and only his fourth league start in the whole of the season, but he impressed before being replaced ten minutes into the second half.
The switch was largely a tactical one, although Howe admitted Botman was not quite feeling 100 per cent at the half-time interval.
“I think he was icing a problem at half-time, so we hope he’s okay,” said the Newcastle boss. “With that in mind, and the fact I thought we needed to change tactically, we made a change and brought Lewie (Miley) on.
“It was a big moment for Lewie, and I thought he handled that situation, with a lot of pressure on him, really, really well. I was really pleased with him.”
