Newcastle United have been handed a double boost ahead of their trip to Loftus Road this weekend - with Papiss Cisse and Rolando Aarons both passed fit to play. Cisse has an outside chance of starting the pivotal Premier League match against Queens Park Rangers while Aarons is almost certain to feature off the bench after interim head coach John Carver declared them both available. Aarons has been out since November due to a succession of hamstring complaints, while 11-goal Cisse featured for 22 minutes off the bench during the 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion last weekend having returned from a seven-game suspension and a knee operation. But the Magpies sit just one place and two points above 18th-placed Hull City heading into the second last weekend of the Premier League season, with QPR and Burnley having already been relegated. One of Hull, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Leicester City or, of course, Newcastle will follow the two already-demoted clubs into the Championship - and the return of both Cisse and Aarons should give the Magpies a welcome boost ahead of their crunch clash with QPR. And, at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Carver said of Cisse:
"Papiss could be huge for us in these last two games. What we have to bear in mind is that he was supposed to be out for between 12 to 14 weeks, but because of the personality he is, he got back quicker than we thought. "He didn't have any Under-21 football, or a behind-closed-doors game to help prepare him for his Premier League comeback, and I thought he did well against West Brom after eight weeks. "He's definitely going to be involved against QPR, and he's definitely in a better place after a week's training."
A win would all-but secure Newcastle's Premier League survival for another season, which is one of the reasons why Cisse and Aarons are being rushed back into action. Speaking to NUFC TV, Carver also declared Aarons fit to play a part at Loftus Road. He said:
"We kept Rolando out of the Under-21 game (on Monday) because we felt he would get more benefit from the training this week. He has done a lot of hard work and is a lot fitter and stronger than he was a week ago. "He has been bright and has given me a bit of a headache, because the bench is getting stronger and we can only put seven players on there. "We have got quite a few players who will be fighting to get on that pitch and if the opportunity arises where I need to put Rolando on, I won't have any hesitation."
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