ANDY Carroll has been ruled out of Saturday's Premier League home game with Tottenham, and Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has suffered a double injury blow after conceding that Alan Smith's ankle injury is likely to keep him sidelined for up to two months.

Carroll's thigh continues to trouble him, and having already missed Newcastle's last four matches, the striker will not be involved when Spurs visit St James' Park this weekend.

However, with a gap of four days to the Magpies next match - an away game at Fulham on February 2 - the club's medical staff are hoping the England international will be available for the trip to Craven Cottage.

Carroll spent a week in Dubai recuperating ahead of last weekend's Wear-Tyne derby with Sunderland, but the break did not have the desired effect and he has received more treatment this week.

Pardew received an update on his fitness yesterday, and has already decided he will play no part in this weekend's game. As a result, Leon Best and Shola Ameobi are likely to line up alongside each other for the second game in a row.

Alan Smith will not be in the starting line-up, and having injured his ankle in the first half of Sunday's 1-1 draw on Wearside, the veteran midfielder travelled to London yesterday for a series of scans.

Smith left the Stadium of Light on crutches, with his ankle in a light cast for support, but it has not been possible to assess the full extent of the damage until the swelling has receded.

The results of yesterday's scans should be available today, and Newcastle officials are bracing themselves for bad news.

Smith appears to have suffered damage to his ankle ligaments, a prognosis that could rule him out of action for up to two months.

"We'll have to wait and see, but it looks like he could be out for six to eight weeks," conceded Pardew.

Smith's absence reduces Newcastle's midfield options for the weekend, but having introduced Danny Guthrie as a first-half substitute at the Stadium of Light, Pardew is happy to stick with the 23-year-old against Tottenham.

"Danny Guthrie will play," he said. "He was excellent in the second half at Sunderland, and I hope he will take it into Saturday."

* Sammy Ameobi and Brad Inman were on target yesterday afternoon as a

youthful Newcastle development side beat Celtic 2-1 in a behind-closed-doors

game.

Academy players Ben Sayer, Michael Riley and Ryan McCorrigan were involved

as the Magpies took on a Celtic side featuring former Sunderland striker

Daryl Murphy and Northern Ireland international Niall McGinn.

* Former Newcastle boss Ruud Gullit has been appointed as the new manager of Russian Premier League team Terek Grozny, based in Chechnya.