Steven Taylor, Yahan Cabaye both ruled out for six weeks

As if things are bad enough at the moment for Alan Pardew and Newcastle, he'll now have to deal with the loss of two key players to injury. Steven Taylor and Yohan Cabaye will both miss upwards of six weeks after both were ruled out by the club today.

Taylor injured his hamstring in the Magpies' loss to Southampton on Sunday and the early prognosis is that the defender will miss six weeks. Taylor's injury leaves Pardew with two central defenders, Mike WIlliamson and Fabricio Coloccini.

As if that wasn't enough, Yohan Cabaye will also be out for six weeks after undergoing surgery on his abdominal wall.

Cabaye commented about the surgery on the team's website saying:

"A recurring pain (forced) me to get operated on my abdominal wall. There will be two steps in the surgery."

With Newcastle struggling mightily at the moment, having dropped to 14th in the table and only three points clear of the relegation zone, something will likely have to be done in the transfer window.The question now becomes whether or not Mike Ashley will open the purse strings a bit for Pardew to reinforce his squad in January.