JONJO SHELVEY is set to return to Newcastle United’s starting line-up for Saturday’s trip to Selhurst Park, but Jamaal Lascelles remains a major doubt for the game with Crystal Palace.

Lascelles damaged his ankle during the warm-up ahead of last weekend’s game with Arsenal, and while he battled his way through the first half of the 2-1 defeat, he was substituted at the interval.

Newcastle’s medical staff have kept him under close observation over the last couple of days as Rafael Benitez is determined to prevent the issue from developing into anything too serious.

Lascelles missed this month’s home defeat to Chelsea because of an ankle injury, and his latest problem is understood to be related to the original issue.

As a result, there is a desire to tread carefully and not push Lascelles too hard in case his injury worsens.

Newcastle are already without Florian Lejeune until at least the turn of the year, with the Spaniard having damaged his knee ligaments during pre-season, and a long-term issue with Lascelles would present a major problem.

Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez arrived in the summer to bolster Newcastle’s defensive ranks, but neither has made a particularly positive impression in the early stages of their Magpies career.

Ciaran Clark replaced Lascelles at the weekend, but the Republic of Ireland international has rarely been regarded as a first-choice pick in the last couple of seasons.

Lascelles’ training schedule will be slowly stepped up in the next couple of days, with Benitez not expected to make a final decision over his possible participation against Palace until Friday morning at the earliest.

He will also be keeping a close eye on Shelvey’s fitness ahead of the weekend, but having been an unused substitute in Saturday’s defeat to Arsenal, the midfielder looks more likely to return to the starting line-up in two days’ time.

Shelvey missed Newcastle’s defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City because of an injury issue, and only took part in light training last week. As a result, he was not risked against Arsenal.

However, with another week’s recovery time under his belt, he should be fine to play at the weekend, and is set to replace Isaac Hayden in Benitez’s starting side.