Rafa Benitez has made it clear that Jack Colback has no future at the club and will keep him away from the first-team training ground.
Midfielder Mikel Merino has been sidelined with a back injury and will be out for at least two weeks, raising the question of Colback returning to the squad.
But Benitez says there is no chance of the £40,000-per-week anchorman being handed a reprieve.
Sportsmail revealed in August that Colback had refused to join in a practice match having been told by the manager that he could leave the club and he was then told to train permanently with Peter Beardsley's Under-23s.
That move failed to materialise with the 28-year-old preferring to remain at home on Tyneside.
And Benitez said: ‘He knows what the situation is and we will continue working with the players we have available now.
‘He knew from the beginning that we have four or five midfielders and I didn't want to have six. We couldn't manage to move any more players out at the end of the transfer window and you can't train as well with as many players around in the same position, I didn't want that.’