NEWCASTLE UNITED star Jonjo Shelvey lost a TOOTH after going in for a challenge – but still managed to play on.
The midfielder went up for a header with Sheffield United’s Ben Osborn in the first half of their match at St James’ this evening.
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Shelvey, 29, actually won the duel but definitely came off worse after falling to the ground clutching his face.
The Toon star was then pictured holding the missing tooth before being escorted off the pitch.
But the heroic ace then continued playing in a brilliant display of bravery.
And Newcastle fans were quick to hail him on social media after the ex-Liverpool and Swansea ace had recently been criticised.
One wrote: “Shelvey loses a tooth and gets up and carry on like a beast. How can you question his commitment?”
Another tweeted: “Shelvey has been like a man possessed since he got his tooth got knocked out.”
Although not everyone had sympathy for him.
Another wrote: “Shelvey losing a tooth… No money from the tooth fairy for him then!”
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Former Aston Villa and Scotland defender Alan Hutton recently slammed Shelvey for failing to do the ‘hard yards’ after their 4-3 defeat to Manchester City.
He had one of the worst pass success rates (63%) out of the squad and completed just five more passes than goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in last week’s loss.
Hutton told Football Insider: “He’s a difficult one. For fans or for outside people looking in, he can be frustrating to watch at times.
“We know the ability he has, he can see a pass, he’s got that in the locker. Even when he was at Liverpool we could see that, when he was breaking through as a youngster. We just want to see it more often.
“I think in the Premier League at the moment, you need to have that ability to get round the pitch. Be hard-tackling, win the ball back and then go forward. Sometimes he doesn’t seem to do the hard yards, if you want.
“I played against him, I know there’s a top-quality player in there. It’s just about being consistent with it. It can be difficult, don’t get me wrong. The way they played at the start the season, they were very defensive.
“It’s one of those ones where, as a midfielder, you get the ball in a defensive situation and you’re trying to play a forward pass but you end up just giving it back to them.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
