Hughton concerned by Harewood fitness

( PA)

Newcastle United's caretaker manager Chris Hughton is keeping his fingers crossed over key men Marlon Harewood and Steven Taylor after suffering a double injury blow.

On-loan striker Harewood damaged a foot in training earlier this week and is undergoing intensive treatment, while central defender Taylor was due to have a scan on a hamstring problem ahead of Saturday's Championship trip to Nottingham Forest.

Harewood is hoping to return to training today and, with teenager Nile Ranger having withdrawn from the England Under-19s squad with a virus last week, Hughton could do with some better news on his strikers.

Hughton said: "We hope Marlon is back in training on Thursday. Nile had a problem, a virus. Nile was probably the worst one, but he's on the way to recovery and we expect him to be OK for the weekend."

The Preston North End goalkeeper Andy Lonergan has signed a new three and a half year deal at Deepdale. The 25-year-old has signed a contract extension which could keep him at the club until the summer of 2013.

Crystal Palace's manager Neil Warnock has refused to rule himself out of the vacant manager's role at Notts County. Warnock has often stated that the Palace job would be his last in football, but the 60-year-old has been linked with a return to the County Ground – where he was in charge between 1989 and 1993 – to replace Ian McParland.

The former Sheffield United manager insists he is happy at Selhurst Park, but he has no money to spend while League Two County now have billionaire owners.

"You can never say never about anything in this business," Warnock said. "All I can say is that I'm enjoying my time here at the moment."

The Watford striker Nathan Ellington expects to leave Vicarage Road in the near future. "The circumstances that I find myself in, and that the club is in, I think it's actually best that I will end up moving pretty soon," Ellington said. The Hornets full-back Mat Sadler is training with Huddersfield with a view to joining the League One club on loan.

MK Dons manager Paul Ince has been given a two-match ban for improper conduct in the match against Oldham at the end of last month. Ince has been banned from the technical area for Saturday's home game against Gillingham and the trip to Southampton on 24 October. The former Manchester United midfielder has also been fined £2,000.