Andy Carroll will miss out on a place in the Newcastle squad for the derby clash at Sunderland on Sunday as he continues to battle a thigh injury.
Carroll, who has not played for the club in 2011, was sent away to Dubai in a bid to restore his fitness, but Alan Pardew has now said he is not fit enough to feature.
"Andy won't play," he said. "He's not even close really. We just have to patch him up and repair him as best we can over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully he will be available then.
"His injury was a little bit worse than we originally thought. It's a thigh injury, a kicking muscle, and you can't chance that being torn.
"He's got absolutely no chance for Sunday, and possibly an outside chance for Spurs [on January 22]."
He added: "This game means everything to him, being local. It's a huge disappointment for the player, but in the last two Premier League games we have done really well without him and overcome that, so hopefully other players will respond in the same manner.
"We've got to be fair to the public of Newcastle and let them know that Andy won't be available but that we are ready to go into battle with the team that we've got."
Newcastle will also be without midfielder Cheik Tiote through suspension
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