Rafael Benitez has revealed that he will wait until the eve of the game before deciding whether Islam Slimani is fit enough to make his Newcastle United debut against Manchester United.

The 29-year-old, who arrived on loan from top-flight rivals Leicester City on deadline day last week, has yet to feature for the Magpies due to a thigh complaint.

Despite paying a hefty fee to take Slimani for the rest of the season, rumoured to be worth around £2m in total, Benitez insists that he will not rush the Algeria international back to fitness.

"We have to see about him, we will see how he feels tomorrow and how fit he is," he told reporters ahead of Sunday afternoon's home match against the Red Devils. "I am not desperate, I am desperate to see all the players fit to give me problems in terms of options.

"He was part of the training session on Thursday and part of a session today in the gym, so we will see tomorrow what he is like."

Mohamed Diame and Ciaran Clark are expected to be available for selection after recovering from knocks, meanwhile, and Martin Dubravka is in line to replace Karl Darlow for his debut in goal.