Newcastle United return to Premier League action tonight as they welcome Manchester United to St James’ Park.
Steve Bruce’s side are hoping to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games and will fancy their chances against a Red Devils outfit who lost 6-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur in their last game.
Newcastle have also won two of the last three league meetings at St James’ Park, securing 1-0 wins in October 2019 and February 2018.
However, like his counterpart, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Bruce has a number of injuries to contend with ahead of naming his side for this evening’s game.
With that in mind, here is a round-up of all the very latest on the injury front and when some of the Magpies’ main men can expect to return.
Paul Dummett
The Welsh defender has not played this season after picking up a muscle injury during Newcastle’s pre-season friendly with Middlesbrough at the start of September.
The 29-year-old is closing in on a return after taking part in training over the last 10 days, but tonight’s game will come too soon for him.
Dummett is expected to feature in Newcastle under-23s’ game with Fulham on Monday evening. Should he come through that unscathed, he will be in contention for next Sunday’s trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Ciaran Clark
Like Paul Dummett, Ciaran Clark will not return from injury on Saturday.
The Irish centre-back has not featured in the league since the defeat by Arsenal in February, but will gain valuable minutes during Monday’s under-23s clash with Fulham.
Matty Longstaff
The match-winner when the sides last met at St James’ Park, the 20-year-old midfielder has not featured this season due to an ongoing thigh problem.
Matty Longstaff is in the same boat as Clark and Dummett with Bruce confirming his involvement in Monday’s under-23 match.
Longstaff has not started a league game since January so Newcastle fans will be keen to see him back to his best.
DeAndre Yedlin
DeAndre Yedlin has played in two of Newcastle’s Carabao Cup wins this season, but has not been involved since the draw with Tottenham Hotspur, in which he was an unused substitute.
Bruce said Yedlin’s absence in the League Cup win over Newport County was due to a knock, so the United States international is expected back soon.
Jamaal Lascelles
Captain Jamaal Lascelles has been out of action recently with a hamstring problem but returned to the squad ahead of tonight’s game in a big boost for Bruce’s side.
Matt Ritchie
Matt Ritchie is not expected back for a while after injuring his shoulder against Spurs, with Bruce admitting it is likely to be a “lengthy lay off” for the 31-year-old.
Ritchie’s injury is similar to the one suffered by Fabian Schar in the win over Burnley although the defender returned to action for Switzerland over the international break.
Martin Dubravka
Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka is still out, with Bruce conceding that the Slovakian goalkeeper’s recovery is taking longer than initially anticipated.
Dubravka injured his heel during pre-season but Karl Darlow has deputised impressively in recent weeks.
“We thought he'd be more advanced - it's not,” said Bruce .
"It's fair to say it's slower than we'd like. We will have to let nature take its course."
Dwight Gayle
Dwight Gayle may not feature until the new year, with the 31-year-old striker requiring surgery after injuring his knee in the pre-season clash with Crewe Alexandra.
