Eight players are set to miss Newcastle United's trip to Tottenham Hotspur. Matthias Jaissle's side head to north London with their tails up after a promising home display against Liverpool and a dramatic 3-2 win over West Bromwich Albion.
The Magpies were seconds away from beating the Reds, and while the late penalty was disappointing, they will travel to the capital with confidence. Meanwhile, the story is different for Spurs who were well beaten by Brentford in their opening match.
Reunion with Sandro Tonali
It will also be a reunion with Sandro Tonali, who will be facing Newcastle for the first time since departing St. James' Park in a £100m move. While he is expected to feature, both sides are expected to be missing around four stars each.
For Newcastle, Jaissle is dealing with a number of notable absentees. He confirmed Joelinton will be side-lined for the next fortnight, revealing: "He's out for a couple of weeks. I don't want to go too much into detail as there will always be specialists involved. The medical department are aware of it, and I'm really confident that he will be back ASAP."
Osula and Burn doubts
William Osula also appears likely to miss out, though Jaissle remains cautiously optimistic about the severity of his injury, saying: "We will need to see. Hopefully, it's not that serious. He will be back as soon as possible as well. For now, it looks quite good."
England international Dan Burn is set to be a notable absence for the next couple of weeks, with the Newcastle boss confirming: "With Dan, it's clear that he will be out for a couple of weeks. How long exactly? That will be decided. But for sure, our medical department is excellent, so he will be back on the grass as soon as possible."
Tino Livramento has re-joined the Magpies in training, however this weekend's fixture is anticipated to arrive too early for the full-back to be considered for selection.
Spurs' injury concerns
Regarding Spurs' injury concerns, there is hope Mohammed Kudus could make an appearance having not played since January. However, the expectation is that the game will come too soon for him. On the Ghanaian, De Zerbi said: "Maybe Kudus can come on the bench. We have to see."
Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert remain long-term casualties and will play no part in the fixture. Both players are recuperating from ACL injuries sustained last season and are not expected to return until February and December respectively.
Dejan Kulusevski is also likely to be unavailable, though De Zerbi hinted he is nearing full fitness, stating: "Kulusevski [is] fit and right, he's one of the best players we have in the squad. I wouldn't like to put too much pressure on him to accelerate the process of rehab, but I hope he can be available as early as possible."
