The last thing Newcastle United needs right now is another serious injury, but that’s exactly what they got today in their 1-0 win over Manchester United. Starting shot-stopper Nick Pope suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder, and repairing the problem will likely require surgery.
If that is the case, then it could be months, not weeks, on the sidelines for Nick Pope.
Manager Eddie Howe admitted that the situation looks grim.
“I don’t know what the future holds for Nick, whether he’ll need an operation or not,” Howe said to the BBC in postgame on Saturday.
“It looks bad. It looks like a dislocation of his shoulder, which he has done before. He had it operated on and came back successfully.
“We’ll get it checked out and fingers crossed he’s back soon.”
The job will now belong to Martin Dubravka for the time being. Today’s win moved Newcastle up to fifth in the table, with their next match coming on Thursday night at Everton. As we indicated up at the top, their injury list is very long.
Dan Burn (back), Matt Targett (thigh) Elliot Anderson (back) and Javi Manquillo (groin) are all ruled out for the time being.
Meanwhile Callum Wilson (thigh injury), Harvey Barnes (foot), Joe Willock (Achilles tendon), Jacob Murphy (shoulder injury) and Sven Botman (knee injury) will all remain out through the festive period fixture congestion.
Sean Longstaff (ankle) is still not back match fit either.
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