Injuries sustained by players while representing their countries are stretching his resources. Michael Owen is likely to miss the bulk of the season with a knee injury picked up at the World Cup, while defender Steven Taylor has missed the last four games after returning from the England Under-21 squad with a foot problem.
Roeder: "It is very frustrating for managers when your players go away on international duty, they come back injured. They do not mean to, but we at Newcastle seem to have suffered badly of late, the obvious one being Michael Owen.
"Steven Taylor has been away a couple of times in the last year and every time he returns from an Under-21 game, he comes back injured."