Newcastle pair could be involved in Newport Carabao Cup clash
Steve Bruce hasn’t ruled out Newcastle United duo Allan Saint-Maxim in and Ryan Fraser for this evening’s Carabao Cup clash at Newport County.
Newcastle have a busy fixture schedule and head to south Wales on the back of the dramatic 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday
Bruce didn’t call on either Saint-Maxi minor Fraser and says they will both be assessed ahead of the midweek cup tie.
“We’ ll see how they (Saint-Maximin and Fraser) are,” said Bruce.
"Allan’s tweaked his ankle. Ryan’s got a bit of a groin. I’m delighted now we didn’t use him, we got away with it.
"If I’ d played him( and he’d a.g gravated it), he could have been out for at least six weeks. I couldn’t risk that.
"Matt Ritchie’s done his shoulder. We’ll see how that is, but it’s not looking good.”
Meanwhile, Newport County boss Michael Flynn admits he may ‘freshen’ his side up for the visit of Newcastle, with the 5.30 pm game to be televised on Sky Sports.
Newport are in good form, they sit third in League Two following the win over Bolton Wanderers.
“I’ll have to have a good think and maybe freshen it up a bit for Newcastle,” said Flynn.
"The boys have been in a good run of form, their fitness is excellent.
“It’s brilliant for us to be live on Sky playing a Premier League team.
“Any extra money that isn’t budgeted for is a godsend for all clubs, not just us.
"The players should be proud they’re playing their part in bringing money in.
"I know it’ s their job to win football matches, but they should also be proud.”
*Another player who has ceme onto Newcastle’s radar is South Africa U20s left-footed defender Bradley Cross.
The 19-year-old, who holds a UK passport, is a free agent following a twoyear loan spell at Bundesliga club Schalke 04 and has been scouted by a number of Premier League clubs already.
He featured 33 times for the German side’ s Under19s last term, which alerted United and many of their top-flight rivals to h is signature.
Prior to his time in Germany, Cross was on the books at Bidvest Wits in his homeland.