Newcastle’s injury problems are continuing to mount with goalkeeper Martin Dubravka set to miss the start of the season.
Dubravka has suffered a heel injury and has been withdrawn from Slovakia’s squad for next month’s Nations League matches.
National team manager Pavel Hapal has claimed he will miss ‘six to eight weeks’.
That is a huge blow for Steve Bruce, whose side were reliant on Dubravka for large parts of last season.
Indeed, it was no surprise when he was named player of the year.
His loss comes on the back of a knee injury to Dwight Gayle which is expected to see him sidelined for at least several weeks, leaving Andy Carroll as the only striker available to Bruce.
The club are also not commenting on the absence of Joelitnon from training.
It is understood the Brazilian striker recently returned from a holiday on the Greek island of Mykonos.
Several Chelsea players are currently in quarantine after holidaying in Mykonos following an outbreak of Covid-19.