Steve Bruce is hoping he can rely on Dwight Gayle sooner rather than later after the striker again stayed at home as Newcastle United were beaten in the capital.
Gayle has not appeared since the the FA Cup defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
Bruce will now assess his chances for Saturday’s tricky clash at Aston Villa.
When asked why Gayle was absent, Bruce said: "Dwight’s been struggling with illness,” said United's head coach. “Thankfully, we don’t think it’s Covid-related.”
Newcastle’s other glaring omission is star winger Allan Saint-Maximin.
Bruce said: “We’re in this run and the one person who gave us a little creativity, that spark in your team, is Allan, of course, and how crucial he has been to us.
“Then again, if I you take out the best players from, if you take a (Wilfried) Zaha out of Crystal Palace … he’s huge to us.”
When asked how close Saint-Maximin was to fitness, Bruce said: “He’s back in light training. We hope that he can get himself (fit), but it’s been two months now.
“We’ve still got to box a bit careful with him.”
