RAFAEL BENITEZ thinks Aleksandar Mitrovic deserves to be cut some slack from match officials, even if he could lose his place to Newcastle United’s fit-again leading goalscorer at Carrow Road tonight.

Dwight Gayle, the Magpies’ 20-goal striker, has travelled with the squad to Norfolk after making a full recovery from the hamstring problem which has sidelined him since mid-January.

Benitez is now weighing up whether to throw Gayle straight back into the mix against rejuvenated Norwich City, who are closing in on a play-off spot, and that would mean Mitrovic missing out.

Mitrovic had an indifferent time at Molineux on Saturday night. He scored the winner and was taken off at half-time over fears he could be sent off after collecting an earlier caution for grappling with defender Richard Stearman.

Wolves claimed the Serbian should have been dismissed before the break for a foul on goalkeeper Carl Ikeme, moments before the Newcastle contingent’s penalty claims were waved away when he tussled again with Stearman.

Benitez sensed Mitrovic, a volatile player, would be targeted after the restart in a bid to have Newcastle reduced to ten men so he took him off – and the Spaniard thinks the player deserves a bit more protection.

The Newcastle boss said: "I think we are talking about a young player, a foreign player, and a strong player that physically likes the contact.

"When you add all these things together, it's clear that he still has to learn, he has to manage better the atmosphere, the pressure and the defenders.

"But at the same time you could see the first yellow card … that was incredible. How can you book someone for this foul that was not even a foul and forget about the foul that wasn't given against them?

"When you put everything together, you have to be sure that he will improve, but at the same time someone has to realise that it is not every time he goes and challenges that it is a foul. The big centre-backs, he has to be allowed to fight with them.”

Benitez has worked hard to improve Mitrovic’s discipline. His card at Wolves was his fourth of the season and he has not been sent off, which, at this stage, is an improvement on the seven cautions and two red cards he collected last season in the Premier League.

Benitez said: “I think he is improving but it is difficult to have the control during the whole game when there's one challenge, another challenge, and another challenge.

“The only thing that you can do is to explain to him, watch the images with him, and try to be in the top of his head that every time he must be sure he understands what he has to do.”

The chances of Mitrovic starting games has been reduced again following the return to fitness of Gayle. The latter scored three times when Norwich suffered a dramatic 4-3 defeat in September and his manager is delighted to have him back in the thick of things.

Benitez said: “He is fully ready, he has been training all week and doing everything. When you have a player coming back, then you have to be sure that his sprints, change of direction, shooting, are all OK and he has been doing everything.

"He's fine and his training sessions have been brilliant, really good. He's available so then we have to decide with him and see how confident he is.

"We have not missed him in terms of what we were doing because still we were winning games. But the way that we were playing has changed because he is different to Daryl Murphy or Mitrovic.

"Daryl and Mitro were scoring goals and playing well with this style, but he's different. Dwight is someone who can run behind defenders, with quick movements and they're more of a targetman-type.

"Dwight has scored goals at home because he has very clever movements. But away, because he has pace and has more space, he is even more important because he can pass defenders and he can be a threat all the time.”

Norwich are unbeaten in their last five games after a difficult period and Newcastle will be looking to end that run to stay ahead of Brighton, who trail by a point, at the top of the Championship.

The chances of Newcastle returning to the Premier League are strong, given there a seven point cushion to third, but that has not stopped Benitez from being linked with top jobs. After attracting interest from West Ham earlier in the campaign, he is one of the names being touted as a potential successor to Arsene Wenger.

Benitez, who has concerns over an ongoing ankle problem for Isaac Hayden, said: "I'm the manager for playing against Norwich and then the next games, that's it, so I'm just focused on that.

"As a manager you are used to having clubs talking and the media talking so what you have to do is just concentrate on your job.

"I don't know (about Arsene Wenger). I have a good relationship with him, I think he's a good manager and that he's doing a great job, but that is not my concern.”

Newcastle: Darlow; Yedlin, Clark, Lascelles, Dummett; Shelvey, Colback; Ritchie, Diame, Gouffran; Gayle.