Bramble out for Magpies

Newcastle defender Titus Bramble is out of Wednesday night’s vital Barclays Premiership clash with Reading because of injury.

Bramble, who has put together a decent run of form in recent weeks as the Magpies have conceded only six goals in 12 games, has been sidelined by a calf injury he picked up in Frankfurt last Thursday.

With midfielder Kieron Dyer also likely to be missing once again after suffering a nasty gash to his thigh during the 1-0 win over Portsmouth, Roeder’s resources will be stretched to the limit.

He said: “Titus got a kick on the calf in Germany on Thursday night and while there was some stiffness on Friday, it did not seem as though there was going to be a problem.

“After their exertions and efforts lately, I gave the first-team squad the weekend off and Titus went back home to Ipswich.

“But overnight on Friday, his calf blew up to twice its’ normal size and he did the sensible thing by coming straight back to Newcastle so (club physio) Derek Wright could have a look at it.

“By doing so, we are hoping it will prevent Titus from being sidelined for too long.”

The loss of both Bramble and Dyer means Roeder will be without nine first-team players for the visit of Steve Coppell’s side to St James’ Park with Michael Owen, Shola Ameobi, Scott Parker, Damien Duff, Craig Moore, Steve Harper and Tim Krul all on the injured list.

However, there has at least been some good news on the injury front with Celestine Babayaro having recovered from a groin strain and Stephen Carr available after his foot problem.

Striker Giuseppe Rossi, who was ineligible for the trip to Eintracht Frankfurt, will return to contention for the first time since Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who loaned him to Newcastle, voiced his disappointment with the youngster’s lack of chances on Tyneside.

However, it is at the back where Roeder’s resources will be tested most with youngsters Steven Taylor and Peter Ramage, who has played most of his football this season at full-back, the club’s only recognised fit central defenders.

Roeder, who was in Holland at the weekend to cast an eye over a potential transfer target, has dismissed suggestions he could try to land out-of-form Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko on loan in January.

He said: “Shevchenko is a wonderful player and a player any club would love to have. But I have not contacted Chelsea about him and I will not be contacting them.

“I am afraid some of the transfer talk over the weekend is pure fantasy.”

The Magpies have been linked with a series of targets in recent weeks and Roeder also played down talk with will offer Carr and James Milner in part exchange for Charlton striker Darren Bent, whom he tried to sign during the summer.

He said: “I have been a fan of Darren Bent from the time I first saw him play for Ipswich. In the summer, we asked Charlton about him and were quoted £15m (€22.3m).

“We have not been back to The Valley for several reasons, one of them being that Charlton would not sell Bent to us because it would send a terrible message out to their supporters.

“Certainly reports saying that we are offering James Milner and Stephen Carr in part-exchange for Bent are not correct, because both players are very much in my plans.

“As far as our supporters are concerned, it is important that while they must know we are busy and still monitoring several situations, no decision has been made on any player we will be trying to bring to St James’ Park.”