Newcastle's injury problems have deepened with the news Danny Guthrie is expected to be out for up to six weeks with a groin problem picked up in last weekend's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea.
It was a costly game for manager Alan Pardew, who confirmed Steven Taylor will miss the rest of the season following surgery on his Achilles, while fellow defender Fabricio Coloccini also limped off with a thigh problem.
The Argentinian has an outside chance of being fit for Saturday's trip to Norwich but if he fails to make it then Pardew will be left without an established centre-half.
Utility man James Perch will definitely play while Tamas Kadar, Davide Santon and Danny Simpson are other options Pardew is considering.
The manager said of Coloccini: "I think there's an outside chance he could play but we won't play him and put him at risk. His injury looks a lot better than we thought so that is the positive news that we got coming out of the treatment room this week.
"Danny Guthrie could be a four-to-six-week job and there's no Cheik (Tiote) this weekend so we really are up against it squad wise and it's important now that everybody plays their part."
Long-serving defender Taylor had been enjoying a renaissance under Pardew and his form was crucial in Newcastle's brilliant start to the season, but the Toon boss is optimistic there will be no long-term effects from the injury.
"The operation went very well," said Pardew.
"It's been repaired and we think he'll make a full recovery. Usually with that type of injury your Achilles comes back stronger so I don't envisage that problem coming back once he returns."
