NICK POPE has suffered a nasty shoulder injury in a huge blow to Newcastle.
The goalkeeper was forced off during the closing stages of their win over Manchester United on Saturday night.
Pope stayed down after diving to his left to deny a United effort on goal.
The shot was blocked, but the Newcastle keeper was left in agony as he signalled to the officials to stop the match.
Replays showed he had landed badly on his shoulder, with the club’s medical staff attending to the injury.
Eddie Howe was then forced into a substitution with Pope unable to continue.
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Martin Dubravka replaced the England international for the closing stages for his first league appearance of the season.
The Slovakian previously spent the first half of last season on loan at United.
Pope’s shoulder woes are another blow for Newcastle amid their ongoing injury crisis.
Howe is already without a number of first-team stars, including Dan Burn and Callum Wilson.
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Sandro Tonali will also miss the remainder of the season as he serves a ban for breaching betting rules.
Fortunately for Newcastle, they were able to hold on to their lead after Pope’s departure.
Anthony Gordon’s second half strike proved to be the winner as the Magpies leapfrogged their opponents and climbed to fifth in the table.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
