A damaging 4-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road on Monday has left Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle facing a mounting injury crisis as the side prepares to host Hull City this weekend.

The result alone was painful enough, but Jaissle's problems run deeper than the scoreline. The Magpies could be without several key players for Saturday's fixture, with the full extent of the squad's injury situation still being assessed.

Elanga and Ramsey doubts

Wing forward Anthony Elanga was ruled out before kick-off, and Jaissle offered a bleak assessment of his condition after the match. "The injury doesn't look good. We need to investigate how serious it is. Elanga is struggling with injury but at the moment it does not look that good," the head coach said.

Midfielder Jacob Ramsey was also absent from action despite being named among the substitutes, having felt tightness in his thigh during the warm-up. "He felt his thigh in the warm-up so he was not able to play tonight," Jaissle confirmed, adding that the situation "does not look good for the weekend at the moment."

Concussion protocol for Nico Gonzalez

The evening's injury troubles were compounded when midfielder Nico Gonzalez was withdrawn in the first half after sustaining a blow to the head. Jaissle was firm on the club's stance regarding player welfare, stating: "We have the responsibility if he has that knock out feeling as we all saw. We have to be responsible to take him off the pitch even though he looked fine then. But there are rules for that occasion. Independent of how important it is to win a match, we are all human beings, and we take that seriously."

A crowded treatment room

The absences of Elanga, Ramsey, and Nico Gonzalez add to an already lengthy casualty list at St James' Park. Joelinton and Dan Burn remain sidelined with ongoing injuries, while right-back Amar Dedic came off in the second half against Leeds having entered the match carrying a knock from the previous week's game against Millwall.

Furthermore, Will Osula has been wearing a protective boot since picking up a foot injury on the opening weekend against Liverpool and is expected to remain out of action until after the international break.

With as many as six first-team players potentially unavailable, what should have been a straightforward opportunity to respond against newly-promoted Hull City has become a genuine selection headache for Jaissle.