Taylor injury 'not as bad as first feared'

Taylor has been plagued by serious knee problems over the past two-and-a-half years, and made his first top-flight start in 32 months in the 1-0 Premier League win over QPR last Saturday.

However, the 30-year-old limped off 34 minutes into the game with what appeared to be another knee complaint.

Taylor looked visibly upset as he left the field, but tweeted after the game that it was not a major problem.

That was confirmed by manager Alan Pardew in a media conference on Thursday, ahead of Newcastle's visit to West Ham at the weekend.

"We expect Ryan Taylor to be back training in 3-4 weeks," said Pardew. "It's not as bad as we first feared."