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Newcastle United have been rocked by the news that Paul Dummett has suffered an injury setback, while Mike Williamson is also a doubt for the West Ham United game.

Dummett suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury from which he had just recovered while training with the United first-team squad and faces several weeks on the sidelines.

His defensive teammate Williamson, meanwhile, has developed an inflamed synovial bursa – a fluid-filled sac which has grown in size – and is touch and go for Monday’s trip to Upton Park.

Newcastle are yet to record a Premier League victory this season and sit second-bottom of the table having collected just two points from their opening four fixtures, so the news will come as a blow to the United management.

Though neither Williamson nor Dummett have made a Premier League appearance between them yet this season, their injuries could leave the Magpies short of cover.

Steve McClaren is therefore unlikely to sanction an emergency loan move for either Williamson or young centre-back Jamaal Lascelles in the coming days, despite the window having opened for Football League clubs yesterday.

That leaves McClaren with just Chancel Mbemba, Steven Taylor and club captain Fabricio Coloccini as his only fit senior centre-backs.

The United head coach is likely to wait and assess the full extent of Dummett’s injury before green-lighting a potential exit for any of his defensive squad members later on in the month.

­Newcastle assistant boss Paul Simpson confirmed the injuries in an interview with the club’s official website. He said: “Paul Dummett’s had a little bit of a setback which is a blow.

“He picked up another little bit of hamstring damage last week in training which has set him back so we’re just monitoring that and nursing him through.

“Mike Williamson has missed a couple of days of training (too).

“We hope it’s nothing serious and it’ll settle down very quickly and he should be available for selection for the West Ham game because it’s just a minor thing.”

Elsewhere, forgotten United midfielder Sylvain Marveaux is expected to return to full training within the next 10 days.

The 29-year-old French playmaker spent the 2014-15 campaign on loan at Guingamp and has been sidelined all season with a groin injury.

However, he should be available to be considered for first-team selection by the end of the month.