... it was concern about an ankle injury picked up on Sunday against Everton that looked certain to rule him out of Thursday's UEFA Cup tie at St James' Park.
But early fears were he could be facing a couple of weeks on the sidelines seem to have been premature. And Glenn Roeder has revealed that Ameobi could be in contention to face Levadia Tallinn on Thursday after getting the all-clear following a scan.
The England Under-21 international has played through the pain barrier all season, and seems determined to keep his place for the two tough battles in the next few days - against Levadia Tallinn and Manchester United.