Matt Ritchie has been ruled out of Newcastle United's home clash with AFC Bournemouth.
The winger has suffered a reaction in training and will miss the meeting with his old club at St James' Park.
Ritchie has been missing since August when he suffered an ankle injury following a challenge with Hamza Choudhury in the League Cup against Leicester City.
Since then he has gone under the knife for a clean-up operation and spent time in the Middle East at a training camp.
Bruce will also be without knee victim Fabian Schar against the Cherries.
Bruce said: "Matt Ritchie and Fab Schar haven't made it.
"Matt was going along very nicely but he's had a reaction to training.
"We thought he was back 10 days ago.
"He pulled up sore in training.
"Let's hope he can have some time off and let nature do its thing."
Both players will look to recover in time for the game at Aston Villa after the international break.
The Magpies go into the game on the back of a win over West Ham and victory against Bournemouth could propel United close to or into the top 10 depending on results.
