CALLUM Wilson thinks there'll come a time this season when Eddie Howe will opt to play both the returning striker and Alexander Isak together in the Newcastle team.

But key, says Wilson, is both of the strikers staying fit to ensure Howe has crucial choice in his forward line.

Wilson returned to action from the bench for the Magpies in Monday night's defeat to West Ham United, a first outing of the campaign for the 32-year-old who had surgery on his back in the summer.

Goals have been hard to come by this season for Newcastle, who are the joint fourth lowest scorers in the Premier League - so the return of Wilson is crucial and timely for Howe.

But rather than focus on whether the strikers can be effective as a pair, Wilson says the priority is both frontmen staying fit so Howe has the option to rotate and freshen up his forward line.

"To be honest we are different players with different profiles," he said.

"When the manager sees fit I’m guessing that he’ll play us together, and when he doesn’t he’ll just play one or the other.

"There is a lot of games coming up, we are going to need rotation and I think the key is having us both fit at the same time.

"We haven’t had that for a long time and ultimately we probably both need that for when he starts, we can rotate on myself and vice-versa and share the load for goals and minutes played on the pitch."

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Wilson admits he's likely to have to settle for a place on the bench again at Crystal Palace on Saturday, but insists he would be ready if Howe threw a curveball and handed the striker his first start of the season.

“You work as hard as you can fitness wise but you can’t replicate playing matches and training regularly with the team," he said.

"It’s probably going to be a process of building up slowly but I’d never rule anything out.

"If the manager asks me to start then I’m never going to say that I’m not ready am I? So, yeah, fingers-crossed and we’ll see where we go?"

Wilson has done everything in his power during his most recent lengthy lay-off to try and ensure he's durable enough to withstand regular football and stay fit. He studied what he eats, his sleep patterns and even the way he runs to try and get to the bottom of his injury struggles. And now he's back he's desperate to stay fit, force his way back into the Newcastle side and score the 12 Premier League goals that will take him to the career 100.

"It's 100 per cent a relief to be back," he said.

"You work hard and have setbacks but you have to try to come back from them. The key is trying to not have to come back from them and that’s what I’ve been working on.

"I was delighted to make my first appearance of the season and want to build on that now. And as a striker, of course, you just want to get your goals, open your account and start hunting down your 100th Premier League goal which is what I’m targeting."