Newcastle United are likely to be without Jamaal Lascelles, Christian Atsu and Mikel Merino for Watford’s visit.

The Hornets head to St James’ Park on Saturday looking to build on the 2-0 win picked up against West Ham United in their last outing.

Magpies boss Rafa Benitez confirmed skipper Lascelles and Atsu are progressing from respective foot and groin issues, but are still someway away from a return to first team action.

He told the Newcastle website: “Lascelles is getting better, but still he will need time, and Atsu is the same. It is too early to say [when they will be back].”

There is better news for both Merino and Dummett, with the duo involved in differing levels of training in recent weeks.

Merino has been out since scoring the sole goal in last month’s defeat of Crystal Palace, while Dummett’s only appearance this term came on the opening day.

The latter has begun to take part in full first team training once again, but no timeframe has been set for their return.

“Merino has been doing part of the training session and Dummett has done the full training session, so that is positive news for us,” Benitez said.

“I think it is important to have players coming back. With Merino, he was doing so well and the fans were so excited. If he is OK it will be a big boost for everyone, because you always need quality.

“Dummett is important for us, because he is the only left-footed full back that we have. He is someone who has some experience too, and will give us more competition and different options.”