Senegal slump is good news for Toon

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew was preparing for an unexpected bonus with strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse due to return weeks ahead of schedule.

Pardew sent the pair off on African Nations Cup duty earlier this month knowing they could be away until the middle of next month if Senegal went all the way in the competition.

However, defeats by Zambia and co-hosts Equatorial Guinea in their opening Group A games mean they cannot now qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, and Sunday's clash with Libya will end their involvement.

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