Newcastle United goes head-to-head with Chelsea this Saturday at St. James' Park (kick-off at 12:30 pm), so here's the injury rundown on players like Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall, and Kieran Trippier.

After that 1-0 loss to Sunderland in the last league game, the Magpies want to get back on track and get closer to those European spots.

Chelsea’s sitting in fourth right now, six points ahead of Eddie Howe’s crew. In the past two seasons, the Blues ended up three points above Newcastle on the table.

Newcastle has won its last four home games against Chelsea, including that 2-0 victory back in May that helped them snag a spot in the Champions League.

But Newcastle’s got a smaller squad than usual for Saturday’s match, especially on defence. Fabian Schar and Malick Thiaw are the only senior defenders who are totally fit. Howe might not even have any experienced full-backs to pick from for the game.

Here’s the current injury situation for Newcastle United, along with when the players are expected to be back:

Joelinton - groin

Joelinton hasn’t played since that groin injury against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. He’s been available on the bench for the last couple of games and will probably be there again against Chelsea on Saturday.

Lewis Hall - hamstring

Lewis Hall didn’t play in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over Fulham because of a hamstring issue. It’s not thought to be too bad, but because Hall had some injury problems in 2025, the club is being extra careful with him.

He might be ready to play on Saturday.

Expected return: 20/12 - Chelsea (H)

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Nick Pope - groin

Pope hasn’t played in any of Newcastle’s last six games, but he’s been training this week, leading up to the Chelsea match and might be back in the squad.

Expected return: 20/12 - Chelsea (H)

Kieran Trippier - hamstring

Trippier being out has been tough for the Magpies, meaning Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall have had to play more than they should. Hopefully, Trippier will be back around the start of the new year.

Expected return: 04/01 - Crystal Palace (H)

William Osula - ankle

Osula’s been out with an ankle injury, and the club even got a specialist to take a look. He hasn’t played since that loss to West Ham in early November, and there’s no word on when he’ll be back.

Expected return: 13/01 - Manchester City (H)

Sven Botman - back

Botman saw a specialist for a back injury and got an injection for it, but the club hasn’t said when he’ll be back.

Expected return: TBC (early 2026)

Emil Krafth - knee

Krafth hasn’t played for Newcastle United since those 45 minutes against West Ham early last month. It’s a setback since a defensive injury issue is starting to get worse. Howe said earlier this week that Krafth will be out until early 2026.

Expected return: 04/01 - Crystal Palace (H)

Dan Burn - ribs

Burn hurt his ribs during Sunday’s defeat to Sunderland and had to go to the hospital because he was having trouble breathing after that hit with Nordi Mukiele. Howe said on Tuesday that Burn will be out for four to six weeks.

Expected return: 18/01 - Wolves (A)

Newcastle United faced another tough break during their Carabao Cup game against Fulham when Tino Livramento had to leave the field due to injury.

Livramento went down a few times because of a problem with his left knee. He was replaced by Alex Murphy with about 15 minutes left in the game.

This is another piece of bad news for the coach, who already has a number of important players out with injuries. Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Kieran Trippier, Jamaal Lascelles, and Sven Botman are all currently unable to play.

Because of these absences, the Newcastle coach had to piece together a makeshift defence for the quarter-final match against Fulham. Livramento moved to left-back, and Lewis Miley started on the right side of the defence.

The most recent setback happened in the loss to Sunderland when Dan Burn hurt his ribs.

The ref gave the Sunderland player a caution. Burn tried to keep playing, but he had trouble breathing and had to go to the hospital.

That was a big deal for us, the coach said before the game with Fulham. He's been great in recent weeks.

So, yes, it's a rib issue with some problem with his lungs. We hope he gets better soon. It will probably take about 4-6 weeks.

The defence is a concern for us. We don't have a lot of injuries, but the players who are out all play the same position. Whenever that happens, you're stretched thin. So our defence is looking weak.

The coach added, Emil Krafth and Kieran Trippier are still out, and we think they'll be back around the new year.

There's no sign of Botman coming back from injury either, and the coach isn't willing to say when he might return. He said, We're not really sure when Sven will be back. He's getting better, but he's not ready to play yet.

Newcastle was looking to bounce back against Fulham after a terrible performance, and the coach made six changes to his side.

The coach changed the front three, bringing Yoane Wissa into the side, and he scored on his first start.

The DR Congo international scored from close range after Benjamin Lecomte messed up a cross.

But the lead didn't last long, as Sasa Lukic scored for the visitors just six minutes later. Lewis Miley scored late in added time to give Newcastle a 2-1 lead at the end of the game.