Roeder upbeat on injuries

Glenn Roeder has issued an upbeat bulletin on a clutch of his injured stars, but the news on Titus Bramble is not so positive.

Newcastle saw their already packed treatment room swelled at the weekend as Emre, Nolberto Solano and Antoine Sibierski picked up knocks in the win at Blackburn.

Sibierski's hamstring problem is thought to be only minor and he could even figure against Chelsea, while Emre could return by the weekend.

Solano's groin injury is only expected to keep him out for a couple of weeks, while Scott Parker and Kieron Dyer have returned to full training and could be in contention to face Watford on Saturday.

"Scott Parker and Kieron Dyer started training on Monday and I'm hoping that with a full week of training they will be fully fit for Saturday," Roeder told the club's website.

"We hope the injuries to Emre and Nobby from the weekend are only short term.

"Emre has a very good chance of being fit for Saturday. When he first got injured we thought he might have broken his ankle but thankfully that's not the case.

"Hopefully he'll be fit for Watford, if not then the game with Chelsea in the Carling Cup.

"Again with Nobby we thought the groin injury at first might have been more severe than it turned out. Maybe Nobby will be back within a couple of weeks."

Bramble has not played this month on account of a calf complaint and reports suggest he is unlikely to return to action before the New Year, while Stephen Carr is also struggling with his foot problem.

Roeder added: "Stephen's injury is proving a bit more troublesome with the pain in his foot not coming out as quickly as we'd hoped.

"He's running but striking the ball is difficult and I wouldn't like to say when he's going to be fit. It could be next week or the week after."