Newcastle United injury news: Will Martin Dubravka feature against Watford and when are Callum Wilson, Isaac Hayden and Jamal Lewis expected back in action?

As games in January go, few come much bigger than Saturday’s clash with the Hornets.

The battle to survive relegation has seemingly turned into a four-horse race with just one spot available in next season’s Premier League for the winner.

Newcastle come into the game on the back of a disappointing showing in the FA Cup but will they be buoyed by players that have been absent because of injury?

Their most obvious injury-miss, and this was highlighted through their failure to put the ball in the Cambridge net on Saturday, is Callum Wilson.

Wilson is the Magpies’ top-scorer this season but is destined to be spending a few more weeks on the sidelines.

Speaking after Saturday’s game, Howe admitted that Wilson is set to be out for another eight weeks following a calf-injury he suffered against Manchester United:

“He had a scan yesterday,” said head coach Howe. “I think he’s going to be out for eight weeks.”

Joining Wilson in being ruled-out of Saturday’s game will be Isaac Hayden. Hayden has undergone knee surgery with February a realistic return date for the midfielder.

A small bit of good news for Howe could be that defender Federico Fernandez may be back in training soon, while Jamal Lewis has made his return, albeit only to ‘light training’.

Speaking after the game with Liverpool last month, Howe revealed that the pair could be out for a while:

“I think they’re going to be longer-term,” said United's head coach. “We don’t expect them back for the foreseeable future, unfortunately.

"Jamal’s a very strange one early in the game against Liverpool. I know he hadn’t had a lot of football, but that was a really big blow for us at the beginning of that match, and Feddy, it looks like it’s going to be around the same length of time.”

As mentioned, Lewis has been pictured back in training, however, Howe revealed that he has only been involved in one session, meaning a return after the Leeds United game is most likely for the left-back.

Martin Dubravka, who suffered a toe-injury against Cambridge United, should be fit enough to feature against Watford.

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