MOUSSA SISSOKO will not be involved in tomorrow’s home game with Reading after injuring his ankle in training, with Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez admitting the Magpies have been fielding calls about the unsettled midfielder.

Sissoko’s future has been the subject of considerable conjecture in the last few days, with Inter Milan, Everton and Crystal Palace all linked with potential offers.

Newcastle are yet to receive a formal bid for the France international, but while Benitez has always insisted that he does not want to sell Sissoko, the interest in the midfielder is clearly hotting up.

Benitez said: “We know every transfer window is like this. We have experience and we know these things can happen and we have to deal with the situation.

“It's not ideal, it's not perfect but we know we have some clubs asking about Sissoko, some clubs asking about some players, and we are talking about different players.

“We have to wait a little bit. There are 15 days (until the transfer deadline) and after, everything will be settled down and it will be easier for us.”

Benitez had hinted that Sissoko could make his debut against Reading, but having missed training this morning, the 27-year-old will not be involved in tomorrow’s home game.

Benitez said: “He knows the situation and he is training well, but he got a knock on his ankle yesterday, so he was not training today.

“In terms of his mentality, he is just a professional, training and waiting for news like everyone here. But he will not be involved because he was not training.”

Recent signing Mo Diame will also miss tomorrow’s game after damaging his ankle in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Huddersfield, but Matt Ritchie should be fit to start after coming off the bench against the Terriers.

Saturday’s defeat was Newcastle’s second of the season after their opening-day reverse at Fulham, but Benitez remains confident the club will turn things around despite their lacklustre start.

He said: “Everybody was expecting that we could win every game by three goals, and we know it wouldn't be like this. We never said it would be like a walk.

“We know we have to keep working hard, we know we have to have confidence in ourselves, but at the same time we know we are strong and we have to show this on the pitch.”