Moussa Sissoko will play no part as Newcastle belatedly attempt to get their Sky Bet Championship campaign up and running with potential suitors yet to make a decisive move.
The £35million France international will sit out once again when the Magpies head into battle with Reading at St James' Park on Wednesday evening amid speculation that Inter Milan and Everton could be ready to firm up an interest in him.
However, having watched Saturday's 2-1 home defeat by Huddersfield from the sidelines, he will not make the 18 on this occasion because of an ankle injury picked up in training on Monday.
Sissoko's situation has been a topic for intense speculation - fuelled largely by the player's repeated insistence that he wants to leave Tyneside - since Newcastle dropped out of the Premier League at the end of last season, but an acceptable bid has still not materialised.
However, manager Rafael Benitez said: "He is fine, he knows the situation.
"He is training well. He got a knock on his ankle yesterday, so he was not training today, but in terms of his mentality, he is just a professional, training and waiting for news like everyone here.
"We know every transfer window is like this. We have experience and we know these things can happen and we have to deal with the situation.
"It's not ideal, it's not perfect, but we know we have some clubs asking about Sissoko, some clubs asking about some players, and we are talking about different players.
"We have to wait a little bit. There are 15 days and after, everything will be settled down and it will be easier for us."
Newcastle's pointless start to the campaign has set alarm bells ringing around the city, although Benitez, who 12 months ago was in charge at Real Madrid, insists he is not fazed by what has happened so far.
He said: "I still think that at the end of the season, we will be fine, we will be good, we will be where we want to be because it's a long, long season.
"It's a long season and we know it's just the start and we have to fix things, but I have confidence that we will do well."
The Royals, managed by former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam, will arrive on Tyneside determined to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat at Wolves and deepen the Magpies' woes.
Marginally worse off than Newcastle, Blackburn head for Cardiff desperate to kick-start their own campaign after humbling defeats by Norwich and Wigan.
Their hosts have fared only slightly better with a 0-0 opening day draw at Birmingham accounting for their only point to date.
The Bluebirds lost 2-0 at home to QPR on Saturday and Rangers will head for Barnsley defending a 100 per cent start following their comprehensive 3-0 victory over Leeds as the campaign got under way.
However, the Tykes too will have been buoyed by a 2-0 home win over perennial promotion contenders Derby at the weekend.
Source: PA
