A quick and relatively brief injury update...

I've read a few comments asking about injuries to certain NUFC players and how they may impact on our trip to Stoke in a couple of weeks time.

So with that in mind I thought I would give everyone a bit of a brief update regarding the injury front at Newcastle.

Jose Enrique will be assessed later on today after he was forced to withdraw against Everton due to a 'slight strain' in his leg. Alan Pardew has indicated that this could either be an injury to Jose's hamstring or an injury to his abductor muscle. Depending on the severity of the situation, Jose could be out for anywhere between two weeks and two months, although a little digging around on the internet has revealed that the average recovery for an abductor strain is two to three weeks. Incidentally, I also learned that rest, ice, compression and elevation (R.I.C.E for all you first-aid maniacs out there) is the best initial treatment, so there you go!

Jonas Gutierrez will also undergo tests today to determine the severity of his leg injury so we'll hear more about that later I'm sure. Personally I hope Jonas isn't out for too long. He may get criticised for his lack of end product, but I think he is still vitally important to the team, and that the importance of him won't be noticed until he is missed.

No news on Nile Ranger's mystery injury that kept him out of the game against Everton, although I'd take a stab at it being not too serious. The cynic in me would suggest that it could be something to do with lateness or some such. Too much coincidence for me, as in an injury that was never mentioned, combined with Alan Pardew being critical of his training ground attitude leads me towards that conclusion. Maybe I'm just being paranoid?

It's better news with regard to Joey Barton and Stephen Ireland as both are expected to be fit for the trip to Stoke although whether they are fit enough to start remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, and that is that Alan Pardew will be treating the pair with kid gloves so as not to risk them aggravating their injury.

Shola Ameobi is obviously back in action for us, but his fitness will be at a much higher level for Stoke, unless he falls over something or traps his foot in a door or does something else clumsy in the meantime.

So there you go. That just about covers all of our injuries with regard to the Stoke game. If there is any more news I will of course keep you up to speed on it.