(Reuters) - Newcastle United forward Andy Carroll and defender DeAndre Yedlin have shaken off their injuries and could return for Thursday's Premier League match against Sheffield United, manager Steve Bruce said on Wednesday.
Carroll has made only seven substitute appearances since rejoining Newcastle in the close season due to ankle and groin issues and missed last Saturday's 2-2 draw against Manchester City with a rib problem.
Yedlin also missed the match against the defending champions after picking up a hip injury.
"They're training today and they trained yesterday, so if they don't have any reaction they could be involved tomorrow," Bruce told a news conference.
Defender Florian Lejeune is in contention to play his first game of the campaign having come back from two anterior cruciate ligament injuries last season.
"I had a chat a week ago with him. The longer he trains, the better mentally and physically he becomes," Bruce said.
"To have the injury like he had then come back... and have it again -- he's had a tough time. When the time is right let's hope we can introduce him."
Newcastle are 14th in the standings with 16 points and host relegation-threatened Southampton on Sunday following Thursday's trip to Bramall Lane.
"We know we've got a couple of games back-to-back quickly so can we go and get a couple of results? If we can it will be a decent first half to the season," Bruce said.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)