Steve Bruce hopes that he will have Allan Saint-Maximin back for the weekend’s FA Cup clash with Oxford United - and could hand Nabil Bentaleb a debut.
The former Spurs man arrived from Schalke 04 on loan on Monday and is poised for his Toon bow at St James’ Park.
After the 2-2 draw with Everton, Bruce said: “I couldn’t play Saint-Maximin after seeing him yesterday so we left him behind.
“We hope he’s available for Saturday. Andy Carroll, DeAndre Yedlin and Nabil Bentaleb should be available too.”
Bruce’s saviour proved to be Florian Lejeune, but he revealed a fresh injury worry.
He said: “Joelinton was struggling with an injury and we had no strikers.
“I didn’t want to put Jonjo on because he wasn’t right. I’m asking people to play out of position but they stuck at it.
“If anyone deserved two goals it’s Flo with the problems he’s had in his Newcastle career.”
