Aarons Doubtful For Hawthorns Trip

By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor

Rolando Aarons is a doubt for Newcastle United's trip to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, manager Alan Pardew has revealed.

Teenage winger Aarons has been one of the stars of the Magpies' season to date, scoring twice in five eye-catching appearances from the flank.

But, having already missed two months of the campaign through a hamstring injury, the England Under-20 international is now doubtful for the Barclays Premier League clash at the Hawthorns.

"Rolando is a worry for Sunday because he has a little knock that we are concerned about," Pardew told the media on Friday.

"That is disappointing for us because his talent is there for all to see in terms of the little cameos and roles he has had."

Midfielder Cheick Tiote will remain sidelined for at least another fortnight with a calf complaint, while Papiss Cisse's ongoing knee problem is being monitored by United's medical staff.

"We expect Cheick to have another couple of weeks of recovery, and he won't be travelling on international duty," explained Pardew.

"We will have our fingers crossed that he could possibly make QPR, but I think the game after against West Ham is a good target for him.

"We are monitoring Papiss at the moment with his knee.

"I don't think he's particularly comfortable with it but he's training hard and training well, so I think that's something we need to monitor as we go along.

"If it's irritable before a game we might not start him, but that process will end at some point and is not something that will be ongoing."

Pardew also lamented the loss of Gabriel Obertan, who was stretchered off during the first half of last weekend's victory over Liverpool.

The former Manchester United winger had played his way back into the first team and put in some impressive performances before injury hit, and Pardew expects to be without Obertan for a lengthy spell.

"He has torn the muscle in his thigh and will be out for some time," said the boss.

"What that will be, I've got no idea, but certainly not in the short term.  He's had an operation and we're looking at a minimum of six-to-eight weeks.

"He's been terrific for us. We got him in a great place and he was playing with such confidence and thrust that it took the team forward."It's a blow to us, and although we had a great result against Liverpool, losing Gaby was the blow of the day.

"Hope fully we can cope with it, with the players we have."