Kinnear to make late decision on injured four

Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear will make a late decision on a quartet of injured players before he picks his side for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League trip to Portsmouth.

Nicky Butt (hamstring), Damien Duff (groin) and Shola Ameobi (foot and ankle) all missed last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Stoke, while Danny Guthrie went off at half-time with a hip problem.

However, all four trained today and could return to contention, although teenage striker Kazenga LuaLua may be included in the squad after scoring twice in the FA Youth Cup in midweek.

Joey Barton (knee), Alan Smith (foot) and Ignacio Gonzalez (Achilles) are still out.

Provisional squad: Given, Harper, Beye, Enrique, N’Zogbia, Bassong, Coloccini, Taylor, Cacapa, Edgar, Butt, Guthrie, Duff, Gutierrez, Geremi, Owen, Martins, Viduka, Ameobi, Carroll, LuaLua.