Kinnear options limited

Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear will be without key midfielder Nicky Butt for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League clash with West Ham.

The former Manchester United star picked up his fifth booking of the season at Hull last weekend and is suspended, and with Danny Guthrie battling his way back from a bout of flu, the Magpies are perilously short once again.

Charles N’Zogbia is expected to shake off a dead leg, while Shola Ameobi, who signed a three-year contract extension earlier his week, is recovering from a hamstring problem, but Habib Beye (ankle) is out long term and Obafemi Martins will undergo hernia surgery in Germany on Monday.

Joey Barton (knee) and Alan Smith (foot) have returned to training but are several weeks away from returns, while Claudio Cacapa (knee) and Igancio Gonzalez are still out.

Provisional squad: Given, Harper, Enrique, Bassong, Coloccini, Taylor, Edgar, Kadar, Guthrie, N’Zogbia, Duff, Gutierrez, Geremi, Donaldson, Owen, Carroll, Xisco, LuaLua, Ranger.