JOSELU will return to the Newcastle United squad for tomorrow’s Premier League game at Leicester City.

With Islam Slimani unavailable because he cannot play against his permanent employers, Rafael Benitez will be relieved to have Joselu available after the Spaniard was forced to sit out last weekend’s win over Huddersfield.

Joselu is likely to find himself on the bench at the King Power Stadium, with Dwight Gayle expected to retain his place in the Magpies’ starting line-up.

Benitez said: “We are fine, we don’t have any problems. Islam cannot play, but Joselu has recovered and is nearly fully fit. (Mo) Diame has been training.”

Last weekend’s win over Huddersfield lifted Newcastle seven points clear of the relegation zone with seven more games to play.

Another victory tomorrow would take the Magpies to 38 points, a tally that is generally regarded as a guarantee of survival, but Benitez continues to regard the 40-point mark as his main target.

He said: “I have to make sure we do not have any complacency and that everybody is concentrated    because it is not done yet. The target is still 40 points and we have to get there.

“I don’t think we can relax. If we get 40, we will try to get more, but 40 is still the number. We don’t need to talk about anything else. How can we win at Leicester and get to 38?”

Benitez’s first game in charge of Newcastle came at the King Power Stadium, with Shinji Okazaki’s acrobatic finish condemning United to a 1-0 defeat during their relegation campaign.

A lot has changed since then, with Benitez leading Newcastle back to the Premier League last season and successfully re-establishing them in the top-flight during the current campaign.

He said: “When I came in, we knew that was a difficult time. We didn’t have too much time. We had to change a lot of things.

“Relegation was a big change, then we had to move players around and bring in new players for the Championship after that, the Premier League is another challenge.

“We can see a big difference between that team and this one. In terms of quality and names, but the main difference is the character and mentality of this group of players.”