Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu has been ruled out of the Premier League clash against Manchester United on Saturday, manager Rafa Benitez confirmed on Friday.
The 25-year-old has failed to recover from a thigh problem and will not make the trip to Old Trafford.
"Mikel Merino's been with a member of staff in Spain [because of his injury]. He will come back and hopefully start training here soon," Rafael Benitez said at the pre-match conference.
"Jamaal Lascelles and Christian Atsu are injured and will not be available. Atsu will be out a couple of weeks. We’ll see next week how Lascelles feels,” he added
The absence of the wideman is a further blow to the Spaniard who is already without key players for the fixture.
Atsu has made 11 appearances so far this season for Newcastle, including 10 starts and has scored one goal as well as providing one assist.