Eddie Howe won't be welcoming any Newcastle United absentees back for Saturday's Premier League clash against Manchester United.
The Magpies have endured a torrid campaign when it comes to fitness issues, with Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock the latest to miss games. Both were absent for Tuesday's 1-1 Champions League draw against Paris Saint-Germain, joining a long list of absentees.
Harvey Barnes and Sven Botman have both been out of action for some time, while Callum Wilson picked up a hamstring injury a fortnight ago. The prognosis for Longstaff and Willock is better but Howe does not expect the pair to feature against United on Saturday.
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"I thought you were going to ask me if Sean [Longstaff] would be back for this weekend, which would be too soon," Howe told ChronicleLive on Friday. "We hope to get some players back in the not-too-distant future, but certainly there doesn't seem that there is anyone that is right around the corner."
"We hope [Willock] is not too bad. We thought there could be a total reoccurrence, which would have been six to eight weeks.
"We hope it is not that long but the problem that we have is two to three weeks at this stage feels like a lifetime for us with the amount of games we have. So although it is possibly good news, it is still really frustrating."
With confirmation of no returning players for Saturday, Newcastle will also be without Jacob Murphy, Dan Burn, Elliot Anderson, Matt Targett and Javier Manquillo through injury. Sando Tonali is unavailable too after being handed a 10-month suspension for breaking Italian FA betting rules.
Howe is still
Chelsea
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Eddie Howe
Sven Botman
Callum Wilson
Harvey Barnes
Javier Manquillo
Sean Longstaff
Joe Willock
Matt Targett
Dan Burn
Elliot Anderson
Jacob Murphy