NEWCASTLE UNITED'S hopes of claiming a UEFA Cup place have been rocked by the news that Titus Bramble will be out for the next two months with a broken elbow.

The unfortunate Bramble, who suffered the fracture in training, is also expected to miss the start of the Premiership campaign after being ruled out with the injury.

And the former Ipswich Town defender's unavailability is going to stretch Graeme Souness' defensive resources to the limit - having allowed Andy O'Brien and Aaron Hughes to be sold to Portsmouth and Aston Villa respectively this summer.

Souness only has Jean-Alain Boumsong and teenager Steven Taylor remaining as recognised centre-backs and a new defender is now high on Souness' list of priorities.

Hamburg's giant Belgian Daniel van Buyten has previously been mentioned as has Manchester City's Sylvain Distin, and now the Magpies boss is working hard on his short-list.

Souness - expected to confirm the signing of Turkish midfielder Emre on Friday - will be desperate to bring in a fresh face to replace Bramble.

The 23-year-old looks set to miss out on Newcastle's Intertoto Cup push, which starts on Sunday when they play their first leg at Slovakian minnows Dubnica.

Bramble said: "It's really bad luck. I went in for a challenge in training and fell onto my arm and knew straight away there was a problem.

"It was extremely painful and took me a while to calm down.

"The doctor hasn't told me how long I will be out for but I think I am looking at a couple of months. It is really frustrating, I was feeling sharp and looking forward to getting back into action again.

"This is a huge season for the club and we know we have to be ready right from the start."

Taylor and Boumsong are likely to be paired together against Dubnica, in what will be Newcastle's first competitive game of the new campaign.

Souness indicated prior to Bramble's misfortune that he is seeking a new defender but the need has become more urgent - particularly with a likely semi-final date with Deportivo La Coruna on the horizon.

Should Taylor or Boumsong pick up injuries in the mean time Souness will be forced to ask young right-back Peter Ramage or left-back Robbie Elliott to fill the breach.

It is a situation threatening to highlight that the Scot was wrong to sell on Hughes and O'Brien without having replacements lined up.

For Bramble, meanwhile, it is a bitter personal blow after finally finding a decent level of consistency at Newcastle following a couple of error-strewn campaigns on Tyneside.

Injuries initially restricted his run in the side last season when a hernia problem kept him out for several weeks.

The pending arrival of Inter Milan midfielder Emre should be confirmed later this week after undergoing a medical at Newcastle yesterday.

The 24-year-old jetted into the North-East on Monday night to put the finishing touches to a £4.5m move to the Premiership and he will become Souness' second signing of the summer.

Emre - keen to move to the Premiership after five disappointing campaigns at the San Siro - has also been wanted by Everton.

But Souness' past, he was a manager at Emre's first club Galatasaray, and Everton's reluctance to meet his wage demands has persuaded Emre to move to Newcastle.

Souness said: ''He's gone back to Milan but everybody's happy and hopefully we will get him signed on Friday.

''He's much admired in Italy, is a star in his home country and he will be a big success here.

''He's got fantastic enthusiasm and will be a good all-round player for us.''

Emre looks destined to be battling it out with Hugo Viana for a place in Souness' midfield after Sporting Lisbon effectively admitted defeat in their quest to take him back to Portugal.

Sporting boss Jose Peseiro said: "Hugo Viana is a product of the Sporting youth set-up and I'd like to have him in the team, but the club is limited from a financial point of view."