Jonjo Shelvey is set to captain Newcastle United in the absence of Fabricio Coloccini.

Regular skipper Coloccini is currently sidelined with a calf injury he sustained while on the Magpies' warm weather training camp in Spain during their 18-day break from competition.

Toon boss Steve McClaren has revealed that midfielder Shelvey, despite only joining from Swansea City in January, will take the captain's armband for Wednesday night's clash with Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

"The captain has to embody what you are trying to say, that's one of the reasons we brought Jonjo Shelvey into this club, because he epitomises what we want to achieve going forward," said McClaren.

"We need someone to drive this team and lead by example both playing and vocally. It will be interesting to see after a lot of criticism about the team, interesting to see how we cope without Colo [Coloccini] and see who steps forward.

"We've talked a lot about bringing in characters with Shelvey and [Andros] Townsend. He's certainly been vocal. But it's about everybody and we've lacked that especially away from home, and that's one of the reasons we're not winning."