'Unfortunately, he’s not made it' - Steve Bruce issues Newcastle United striker injury update

The striker has been sidelined since being forced off against Southampton last month with what was described as a “niggling” thigh injury.

“We’re not going to put a time on it," said Bruce. “He’s making good progress. Unfortunately, he’s not made it.”

Bruce had better news on Ciaran Clark, Joe Willock and Javier Manquillo, who all suffered knocks in last weekend’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester United. Jonjo Shelvey and Paul Dummett, however, remained sidelined, though Ryan Fraser is back in training.

“Everybody at the weekend has come through. We had one or two knocks towards the end. Thankfully, everybody’s OK. That’s good. Unfortunately it’s a bit too quick for Callum, Jonjo and Paul Dummett. Ryan Fraser’s trained all week, so he’s OK. That’s about it. We had a couple of knocks towards the last 10 minutes, but everybody’s OK.”