Newcastle are ready to welcome back Yohan Cabaye and Cheik Tiote as they launch a final push for a European place.
The Magpies were without the duo as they crashed to a 5-0 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday and although they had won their previous two games with neither player in the side, boss Alan Pardew says they were badly missed at White Hart Lane.
Cabaye was serving the final game of a three-match ban while Tiote was preparing for the African Nations Cup Final and how Newcastle missed them as Spurs dominated the midfield and the game.
It did not help that Ryan Taylor was also out injured, and although Pardew refused to make excuses, he admits the loss of three key players against a side like Tottenham was a huge blow.
"We had no Cabaye, no Tiote and no Ryan Taylor," Pardew told the Gazette. "There was a big part of our midfield missing, and that was pretty evident.
"It hurt that Cabaye wasn't playing."
Cabaye and Tiote will both be available again when Spurs return to Premier League action against Wolves on February 25th and their return could not be more timely.