Newcastle skipper Fabricio Coloccini could be out until May after he broke two bones in his back after landing awkwardly in the 4-2 defeat to Southampton last month. The 31 year old centre-back, who demanded to leave the club in January, has returned to his native Argentina for a week to work with his national side's medical team.

Toon boss Alan Pardew said: "There's no treatment he can have. It's going to be between three and seven weeks."