Newcastle United have received good and bad injury news on the eve of their FA Cup clash with Manchester City on Saturday night.
The good news is that Anthony Gordon has avoided a serious knee injury, and he is hoping to be involved at the Etihad Stadium. That is a major boost, considering there were fears that his season was over after what happened on Monday night.
But there is also bad news, and it involves Nick Pope.
The £10million man has been out of action since early December, having suffered a shoulder injury during a 1-0 win over Manchester United. He underwent surgery, and has been absent ever since.
Martin Dubravka has taken his place, and it has had a direct impact on Newcastle’s defensive record. The Magpies are suddenly leaking goals, and do not defend in the same way when Pope is not in between the sticks.
While Dubravka has done well in patches, Pope’s injury has had an adverse effect on Newcastle’s form, so word that he was due to return next month was extremely encouraging.
And while that is still the case, it will still be a while before we see Pope back in the Toon starting XI.
Nick Pope out until the end of April
That is according to Eddie Howe, who has spoke to the media ahead of Newcastle’s FA Cup clash with Manchester City. He spoke about Pope’s recovery, and admitted that the England international will not be back until the end of April.
“April is his target, but I think that will be more towards the end of April than the beginning but he’s making good, solid progress,” he said.
“He’s out on the grass but not necessarily diving. That will be a big test for his shoulder and it’s the next stage.
“Then, of course, he will have to get his sharpness back. He’s entering into the final furlong in terms of his comeback but he’s still got a lot of hurdles to go through.”
Big injury blow for Newcastle
By the time Pope returns from injury, Newcastle are not going to have many games left. Their last game in April is on the 27th, then they have three Premier League fixtures in May.
That means that Dubravka will be Newcastle’s goalkeeper for pretty much the rest of the season, which will be a concern for some fans.
The defence looks much more disjointed at the moment, which appears to stem from Dubravka’s inability to act as a sweeper keeper – which is something Pope does brilliantly.
But Newcastle are just going to have to get on with it. Pope’s return is not imminent, so the Magpies must focus on getting results without him.
While they are down in 10th now, European football is still a possibility.
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