Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew is upbeat about Davide Santon's return to full fitness.

After victory over Nottingham Forest in the Carling Cup, Pardew revealed that full-back Santon could return to full training next week after having fluid drained from his injured knee on Monday.

He said: "It was a little pea-sized amount of fluid, so there wasn't a lot of fluid on his knee.

"We think it's a really good response, but we are not going to rush him. He is going to run tomorrow, we think he is going to train at the weekend - he won't be involved in the [Blackburn] game - and we are hoping on Monday that he is full training.

"If he breaks down in any of that period then we will make a decision on Wednesday on whether he has to have surgery.

"But at the moment we are very positive."