Joey Barton is still behind bars, with his agent saying: "He's not back yet. It could be at least another three to four weeks."Keegan Starts With Thread-Bare Squad!
Joey Barton is still behind bars, with his agent saying: "He's not back yet. It could be at least another three to four weeks."Controversial England international Barton was last week given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, having served less than half of his six-month stretch for a separate assault in Liverpool in December.
Also absent was new boy Jonas Gutierrez, with the Argentina international given extra holidays following his performance for his country against Brazil two weeks ago.
African stars Geremi and Abdoulaye Faye have been extra time to recover following their World Cup efforts for Cameroon and Senegal respectively which took place during June.
Andy Carroll (heel) and Mark Viduka (Achilles) are away due to injuries.
The Toon boss had only 13 senior players training.