NEWCASTLE United have been hit by an injury crisis ahead of today's Barclays Premiership clash against Crystal Palace - with skipper Alan Shearer the biggest casualty.

The 34-year-old is out of this afternoon's fixture after suffering a thigh strain in training.

Shearer picked up the injury on Thursday morning and it is the first game he has missed through injury or illness since a flu-bug kept him out of United's 5-0 thrashing by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last November.

He remains a doubt for the Magpies UEFA Cup clash against Sochaux in France on Thursday but is expected to be available for next Sunday's Premier League fixture against Everton.

On top of Shearer's thigh strain, Graeme Souness' defensive problems were compounded further yesterday with news that Stephen Carr and Andy O'Brien will be out of action for up to a month.

Both Carr and O'Brien sustained injuries in last week's 3-1 defeat to Manchester United at St James' Park. A scan revealed the former Spurs' full back has a nick on his patella bone and his Republic of Ireland team-mate has a hamstring problem.

The injuries mean United are now down to the bare bones and have only five fully fit defenders available for this afternoon's crucial clash against Palace at Selhurst Park.

But with the January transfer window still over a month away the Scot is set to recall utility man Aaron Hughes as the tourniquet to heal his bleeding back line.

He said: "We have a shortage of defenders here and next in the pecking line outside the five involved tomorrow is young Steven Taylor, but from day one we have felt there has been an imbalance in the squad.

"Aaron Hughes certainly does become a key man for us. There is an opportunity for him to show us what he can do.

"Aaron has struck me as a stable type of character and I have no fears for him.

"From the outside, before I came here, looking at him he was what you would call a 'Steady Eddie'. A player who was in the background but could come in and play in a number of positions and do it well and that's what we're looking for him to do at this time.

"The door is open for him and if he can grasp it he can stay in the team for a long time but only he can answer that."

Despite the team's susceptibility to conceding goals this season, scoring them has not been a problem for United.

Only Arsenal, with 37 goals, have found the back of the net on more occasions than the 24 times United have managed it.

Souness is hoping that trend will continue in this afternoon's fixture against the Eagles.

The 51-year-old Scot is confident he can get the Magpies back on track after a run of four successive defeats and pinpointed Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert as the central figure after a run of five games in the side.

He said: "When you look at Patrick Kluivert, he could have had four goals last week: the one he put over from Craig Bellamy's chested pass; the one where he went around the keeper; the one where he's pulled out of a header and the one he actually stuck in, which was actually on-side.

"In every game Patrick plays, he gets chances and it is only a matter of time before he starts to score again and hopefully it will be this afternoon.

"I've said it before, he needed a run of games, and today, and the next couple of games he is going to be fully fit, and that will be a run of six games back-to-back."

The Newcastle manager says he is more than happy with the football his side has played recently despite the run of defeats, but would gladly settle for a poor performance and a 1-0 win courtesy of an own goal today.

He said: "In the last three home games we have played Chelsea and Manchester United, two of the best teams in world football, and we've matched them for 90 minutes.

"We lost the games and although they weren't by single-goal margins, they were very close encounters.

"With a bit more concentration defensively and a little bit more luck in front of goal they are both games we felt we could have won."

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