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Rafa Benitez has hinted that Aleksandar Mitrovic could get his chance to shine once he returns from a back injury.

The Newcastle United boss will be watching with interest tomorrow night as Chelsea face Norwich City at Stamford Bridge for the right to play the Magpies in the FA Cup fourth round.

Benitez will decide how to approach the FA Cup after Saturday’s clash with Man City, but Newcastle could rotate their squad on for their Sunday cup clash as they face Burnley a few days later.

When asked what his policy will be, Benitez told the Chronicle: “It depends on the squad.

“Sometimes if you have enough players available and players coming back from injuries maybe you can manage in a better way.

“We have to wait to see.

“We have Florian Lejeune, Jesus Gamez and Aleksandar Mitrovic all running.

“Mitro is getting close and we will see.

“Gamez will take more time but if they are fine then we have more bodies.”

Benitez has also warned that regardless of who gets through between Chelsea and Norwich, his side face a difficult game.

He said: “We have to wait. They still have to play another game and will have plenty of time to talk about that.

“We’re happy because we are into another round.

“It will be tough anyway because both teams are quite difficult to play against.

“We’ll wait and see what happens.”

Newcastle are currently above the relegation zone and could need around 17 more points in order to stay up.

Speaking about the relegation dogfight, Benitez said: “We have to stay calm and work as hard as we can, but without anxiety.

“Our fans know that our players won’t improve if we criticise them during games.

“We have to improve them by supporting them.

“When they feel under pressure they do different things and maybe don’t want to be involved or make the right movement or give the ball away.

“It’s a group of players that have to give everything.”