Newcastle United duo ruled out of Liverpool & Sunderland games amid 'difficult' three-month injury blow

Elliot Anderson and Matt Targett are both approaching two months on the sidelines for Newcastle United.

Anderson hasn't been seen since the 4-0 win over Crystal Palace in October while Targett picked up a serious hamstring injury which required surgery in the 3-0 win at Manchester United in the Carabao Cup in early November. And both players are still weeks away from a potential return.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe initially told The Gazette Targett would be out for three months following the operation on his hamstring - keeping him out until February. And Anderson's recovery time from a stress fracture in his back is roughly the same at '12 weeks', according to The Magpies' boss.

That will rule the duo out of some crucial fixtures in January including trips to Liverpool on New Year's Day and Sunderland in the FA Cup third round.

And when asked for an update on the recovery of both Anderson and Targett ahead of Tuesday's trip to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup, Howe said: "They're doing okay. Elliot has been to see another specialist just to get another review on where he stands."

Anderson's injury came just as he was starting to get a consistent run of matches in the Newcastle side. In the 21-year-old's absence, 17-year-old Lewis Miley has stepped into the side and made an impressive impact with one goal and two assists to his name.

"It's been a difficult injury for him because he's not able to do too much, it's a stress fracture to the back so he's had a couple of scans to see if it's healing," Howe added. "It's healing but it's healing slowly as those type of injuries tend to do.

"The second opinion he had was of the same opinion as the first which is a good thing. It's slightly frustrating in terms of the time frame."

On Targett, Howe continued: "Matt's is pretty straightforward really, an operation on his hamstring and he's sticking to that rehab target that he's been given."

Targett's absence followed by an injury to Dan Burn has seen Tino Livramento slot in at left-back ahead of Chelsea loanee Lewis Hall. Burn has since returned from injury, scoring in the 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday.