Jamaal Lascelles

Lascelles has made his first start for Newcastle since his ACL injury in a 3-2 defeat against Arsenal in a pre-season friendly, the club announced.

Lascelles played the first half of Tuesday's U21 match, Newcastle announced.

Lascelles (knee) is on the bench for Sunday's game versus Chelsea.

Lascelles (knee) is making good progress since returning to training but is unlikely to feature again this season unless there are injuries in the squad, coach Eddie Howe said in a press conference, according to the Northern Echo. "Jamaal is making good progress and I'm really pleased with how he looks since coming back to training. It has been a slow steady return - he's certainly not been rushed. Possible he could be involved before the end of the season but I think maybe it would depend on injuries with some of the other players within the squad. Maybe for Jamaal it would be better if it was next season. But if he feels good and he's done enough training then it's something we'll look at."

Lascelles (knee) has started light training, though his return before the end of the season remains uncertain, coach Eddie Howe said in the press conference. "I don't know whether we'll see Jamaal before the end of the season. I don't really want to set a target on his time to return. He's started very light training with the squad, but that would be light, not necessarily in competitive drills. He's joined in the drills that have been non-competitive, and he's looked really good. It's small steps for him. We're hoping he can definitely be joining in and competing in training before the end of the season, but whether that ties in with the team and whether he gets there in time in terms of competitive action, let's wait and see."