Fabricio Coloccini: Newcastle defender misses the visit of Liverpool on Saturday

The 31-year-old defender returned from international duty with Argentina with a groin problem and Alan Pardew confirmed he will not be involved on Saturday.

"We have had an injury to Colo in that time, so he won't feature this weekend," said the Newcastle manager.

"How long he misses, we will have to wait and see, so that was disappointing.

"He has a groin injury, so we will have to see how it repairs itself over the next few days."

The Newcastle boss also backed Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa to fill the gap left by Coloccini in the centre of the Magpies defence.

The 24-year-old missed the 2-1 victory at Cardiff last time out after being hauled off at half-time in the 3-2 defeat at Everton, following a torrid 45 minutes that saw the home side take a 3-0 lead.

"The most important thing is his response on the pitch, but his response in training has been very good," said Pardew.

"Sometimes you need to come out to have a little breather. You could perhaps

say his chance has come early, with Colo's injury, to come back in, so it will

be interesting, his performance.

"I hope - I really hope because he's a terrific person - that he puts in great

display on Saturday."