Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder returns from UEFA Cup duty in Italy hoping for positive news about Damien Duff, Stephen Carr and Scott Parker ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Sheffield United.
The trio were all left in Newcastle this week to heal knocks as an inexperienced side was taken to Palermo. All three could be back on Saturday, but after their replacements secured a 1-0 win in Sicily, they may struggle to walk straight back into the starting XI.
However, Roeder is expecting one or two of his team from the clash in Italy to miss out anyway due to muscular injuries he feels a 48-hour recovery period cannot heal. Steve Harper will face another late fitness test to see if he can resume his place in goal with Tim Krul on standby to make his Premiership bow.
Giuseppe Rossi is back after being ineligible in the UEFA Cup while Michael Owen (knee) and Shay Given (abdominal injury) remain sidelined.
Provisional squad: Harper, Krul, Taylor, Moore, Bramble, Carr, Bernard, Ramage, Parker, Solano, Milner, Emre, N’Zogbia, Duff, Pattison, Rossi, Sibierski, Luque, Carroll.