Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton concedes Andy Carroll's court case is an unwanted distraction for their Premiership return.

Carroll will be tried at Newcastle Crown Court in October after he denied assaulting a man following an incident in the Blu Bambu nightclub last December.

Hughton told The Journal: "In an ideal world we would have liked to have got the trial out of the way sooner than October and it isn't particularly helpful to have it in the middle of the season.

"But we will continue to support Andy and I have no worries about him. It would have been better for him, and us, if he didn't have something like this hanging over his head until October, but he will continue to focus on what he needs to do at Newcastle United.

"He played with distractions last season and did very well during that period. I think he is just looking forward to playing and scoring goals for Newcastle United again.

"He is developing into a very good striker and he really benefited from playing week in week out in the Championship. Now he has to show he can do it in the Premier League.

"That is what we want him to concentrate on and I'm sure he will be raring to go when the players come back for the start of pre-season training in July. He is a young man who is still learning."