Steve Bruce says he will ‘wholesale changes’ for the Carabao Cup tie with Rovers but insists: ‘we’ll take it seriously’.

Rovers will still face a strong Newcastle side even with changes, with Bruce confirming that Ryan Fraser will make his debut after his summer move, with Ciaran Clark also in line to start.

Big-money buys Joelinton and Miguel Almiron were both on the bench for the weekend win at West Ham, where new £20m man Callum Wilson was on the scoresheet, as were the Longstaff brothers.

All four could be in contention to start against Rovers in the second round tie, with Oldham Athletic or Morecambe awaiting in round three.

“There were a few tired bodies but everyone reported in yesterday fine, and we’ve got a clean bill of health going into training this morning again,” Bruce said in his Monday morning press conference.

“We will make wholesale changes.

“Ryan Fraser will make his debut. Ciaran Clark will play who hasn’t played for a long time and there’s some players who need a game but the squad is big enough to make those changes and let’s hope we can get through to the next round.”

“We’ll take it seriously but the competition this year is condensed by seven weeks so we’ll play more games. I have a squad and I will make changes but when I look at the strength we have I still expect us to try and get through.”