Strike duo set for return

Last updated : 25 April 2012 By Paul Farrington

Di Santo was withdrawn after 33 minutes of the last game with Fulham after complaining of a sore calf whilst Rodallega has been missing for some weeks with a knee injury.

Rodallega in particular is being eased back into action slowly and Martinez is hopeful that the Columbian can take part against Newcastle.

“Hugo rejoined the squad on Monday and we are waiting to see how much of a reaction there will be,” Martinez told the Evening Post.

“The work he has done over the past few days has been very positive, he is getting stronger by the day and he’s well in contention for the weekend.”

Martinez revealed that Di Santo was withdrawn before his injury could develop into a rupture. Instead the the Argentinian suffered only a minor muscle strain.

“The good news regarding Franco is we were able to get him off the field before he picked up a really serious injury.

“We’ll assess him again on Thursday or Friday, but he is reacting well to the treatment and we remain hopeful he will be okay.

“Thankfully we were able to avoid the ultimate damage in terms of soft-tissue injuries, which is a rupture.

“It’s important now that we get rid of the problem he has in his calf, try to wash it off and ensure he finishes the season on a high.”

Two other player in the treatment room are Ronnie Stam and Albert Cursat who have hamstring and calf injuries respectively. Both are unlikely to feature in Saturday's game.

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