Newcastle United have sent Dwight Gayle to a warm weather training camp in a bid to clear up his calf problems.
The Toon striker is yet to kick a ball this season after sustaining the muscle problem in the early part of the club's tour of China when he had to retire from a training session in Nanjing.
The ex-Crystal Palace man has since returned to light training but Steve Bruce has decided to send him to Portugal in a bid to be fit for mid-October after the international break.
Bruce told Chronicle Live: "Dwight is still not right so he's on a training camp at the minute.
"We hopeful when he comes back he will be OK.
"I haven't seen him kick a ball yet since I've been here.
"That's a disappointment and a frustration.
"To be fair, it was the same with Andy Carroll, unfortunately Allan Saint-Maximin has only played an hour in a Newcastle shirt.
"We can all see what he's going to give us.
"So Dwight has gone to Portugal."
Bruce added: "We've taken a couple of weeks for him and somebody will work with him indvidually.
"With some warm weather on him hopefully that will do the trick."
