Source: Northern_Echo
Smith undergoes scans while Carroll stays sidelined
ANDY CARROLL has been ruled out of Saturday's Premier League home game with Tottenham, and Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has suffered a double injury blow after conceding that Alan Smith's ankle injury is likely to keep him sidelined for up to two months.[LNB] Carroll's thigh continues to trouble him, and having already missed four matches, the striker will not be involved when Spurs visit St James' Park this weekend.[LNB] However, with a gap of four days to the Magpies' next match a game at Fulham on February 2 the club are hoping the England international will be available for the trip to Craven Cottage.[LNB] Carroll spent a week in Dubai recuperating ahead of last weekend's Wear-Tyne derby with Sunderland, but the break did not have the desired effect and he has received more treatment this week.[LNB] Pardew received an update on his fitness yesterday, and has already decided he will play no part in this weekend's game.[LNB] As a result, Leon Best and Shola Ameobi are likely to line up alongside each other for the second game in a row.[LNB] Smith will not be in the starting line-up, and having injured his ankle in the first half of Sunday's draw, the midfielder travelled to London yesterday for scans.[LNB] Smith left the Stadium of Light on crutches, with his ankle in a light cast for support, but it has not been possible to assess the full extent of the damage until the swelling has receded.[LNB] The results of yesterday's scans should be available today, and Newcastle officials are bracing themselves for bad news.[LNB] Smith appears to have suffered damage to his ankle ligaments, a prognosis that could rule him out of action for up to two months.[LNB] We'll have to wait and see, but it looks like he could be out for six to eight weeks,[LNB] conceded Pardew.[LNB] Smith's absence reduces Newcastle's midfield options, but having introduced Danny Guthrie as a first-half substitute at the Stadium of Light, Pardew is happy to stick with the 23-year-old against Tottenham.[LNB] Danny will play, he said.[LNB] He was excellent at Sunderland, and I hope he will take it into Saturday.[LNB] Sammy Ameobi and Brad Inman were on target yesterday as a youthful Newcastle development side beat Celtic 2-1 in a behind-closed-doors game.[LNB] Academy players Ben Sayer, Michael Riley and Ryan McCorrigan were involved as the Magpies took on a Celtic side featuring former Sunderland striker Daryl Murphy and Northern Ireland international Niall McGinn.[LNB] Former Newcastle boss Ruud Gullit has been appointed as the new manager of Russian Premier League team Terek Grozny, based in Chechnya.[LNB]
