The Gulls will be without their Player of the Year and leading scorer after the striker limped off after just 21 minutes on Sunday nursing a hamstring injury, having initially shrugged off a groin problem to start.
"I will always back the lads," Howe told Torquay's official website. "We have a great team spirit. Even when we went eight games without a win, we kept our spirit and went on an amazing run.
"We are not scared of Cheltenham and I can see no reason why we can't do it. We will go into the game and take it to them.
"Hopefully the lads can win 3-0 and I will come back for the final."
