JACK COLBACK is prepared to sit tight for the next five months in the hope of forcing his way back on to Newcastle United’s squad list in January.

The midfielder was left shocked last week when Steve Bruce opted to leave him out of the 25-man squad that was submitted to the Premier League, a decision that ruled out any chance of him appearing in a league match in the first half of the season. He can, however, play in the Carabao Cup.

While the transfer window for clubs in the Premier League and Championship closed last Thursday, there is still a chance Colback could leave Newcastle before the end of the month.

Clubs in Leagues One and Two are still able to sign players, and the window remains open in Scotland and most other European countries.

However, with one year of his current Magpies contract still to run, Colback is not prepared to drop into the bottom two divisions.

His wages, which are understood to be around £35,000-a-week, effectively rule out any chance of clubs in Scotland being able to afford him – even Celtic and Rangers would struggle to fund such an outlay – and the 29-year-old is understood to be reluctant to move overseas.

As a result, there is every chance he will remain on Newcastle’s books for the first half of the season, with Steve Bruce having indicated that he will be able to train with the first team.

Colback, Rolando Aarons, Henri Saivet and Achraf Lazaar have all been involved with Bruce’s senior group this week, and while there will be times when they drop out of first-team sessions if tactics are being rehearsed for a specific game, Bruce does not want to ostracise them completely.

Saivet and Lazaar are expected to find new employers before the end of the month, and Aarons is also understood to be the subject of interest from teams in Belgium and Holland.

Colback’s position is different, however, and having performed reasonably well in pre-season, the midfielder looks set to turn down any offers that come his way in the next couple of weeks before reassessing the situation in January.

He will obviously not be involved in tomorrow’s trip to Norwich City, but Newcastle will be able to call on the services of Jonjo Shelvey at Carrow Road.

Shelvey sustained a muscular injury in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal and was forced off shortly before the hour mark, but he was able to take part in a full training session yesterday and should start tomorrow.

Bruce is likely to name an unchanged starting side against the Canaries, although new signing Emil Krafth is an option at right wing-back instead of Javier Manquillo.

Newcastle’s Carabao Cup second-round tie with Leicester City will take place on Wednesday, August 28.