Rafa Benitez says he would rather use out-of-favour defender Chancel Mbemba as an emergency midfielder than recall Jack Colback.
‘We have the international break now and we have enough players in that position, we have Chancel Mbemba who can even play in midfield,’ he added.
‘Without Merino, we can play Mo Diame, Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and Henri Saivet.
‘If we need anything else, we can also play Mbemba, he played there in the Africa Cup of Nations.’