Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given looks set to be sidelined for one month after suffering a groin injury in Saturday's Premiership clash with West Ham.
Given was due to have a scan this morning after being forced out of the action in the second half of the 2-2 draw at St James' Park.
It will be Given's second lengthy lay-off of the season after undergoing stomach surgery in September. The injury is also likely to keep him out of the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2008 qualifier with San Marino on February 7th.
Newcastle are also waiting for news of defender Peter Ramage, who has been struggling with a hamstring problem in the past two games and could be out for a similar length of time.
Elsewhere initial checks have revealed that Everton striker Andy Johnson has not broken his ankle.
The England striker hurt his left ankle in a challenge with Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland in the Toffees 2-0 victory at the JJB stadium yesterday.
It was initially feared that Johnson had suffered a serious injury after he received extensive treatment on the pitch at Wigan.
Preliminary checks revealed 'no obvious fracture' but Johnson's condition was being assessed further today.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)