Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew remains upbeat over Davide Santon's recovery from an injury setback last week.
Pardew is hoping deadline day signing Santon, bought from Inter Milan, will avoid surgery on his knee.
He said: "Davide has had the fluid taken from the knee and fingers crossed that will be okay and maybe he will be available for next weekend.
"If that doesn't cure the problem, we think he will have an operation to tidy it up. It is not a cartilage issue, just a bit of scar tissue."
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