Injured Newcastle keeper Pope out for four months – Howe،
Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope could be out for four months after injuring his shoulder against Manchester United on Saturday, manager Eddie Howe said.
Pope, who was forced off the field during his side's 1-0 win, has started every Premier League and Champions League game for Newcastle this season, but this injury will see him sidelined in a foreseeable future.
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“He had a few appointments with specialists. [We’re] we're still waiting for the latest news on what's going to happen,” Howe said at a news conference Wednesday.
“We think he's going to have surgery. He'll be out for about four months, but that's something we were looking forward to right after the game.”
ESPN reported on Monday that Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea is set to join Newcastle. De Gea has been a free agent since his contract with Manchester United expired in July. However, Howe said Newcastle had made no inquiries into replacing Pope.
“I've seen a lot of headlines in the media about goalkeepers and other players. We haven't done any investigation,” Howe said.
“If we were to recruit now, we would recruit in all areas of the pitch. It's a chance for the other goalkeepers to consolidate their positions.”
Pope's absence will allow Martin Dúbravka to have his chance. The Slovak goalkeeper replaced Pope in the final minutes of the match against Man United, and his only other appearance this season came against the same opposition in the League Cup.
“I've always had a high opinion of him. Martin is a top class goalkeeper, an excellent goalkeeper and very good with his feet, so there is no hesitation in bringing him into the team “Howe said.
Newcastle made it back-to-back league wins at home with victory against Man United, and Howe said he was even more impressed with that performance than the 4-1 win against Chelsea previously, or the draw against Paris Saint-Germain. Germain between the two.
“It was a big effort from the group, the players really understood the situation we are in, they really stood up,” he said.
“We gained a lot of confidence from the Chelsea game which was a massive result for us.
“That led to Paris, which was difficult to talk about, and then what a response against Manchester United. I thought it was our best performance of the season.”
Howe's side travel to face Everton on Thursday, and while Newcastle's home record is impressive with seven wins from eight, away from home they have just one win in six and have suffered three defeats.
“They [Everton] They are a very strong and physical team. They’ll ask us questions defensively that we’ll have to answer, we’ll have to answer those questions,” Howe said.
“It's a big game for us. We know our away form needs to improve.”
Newcastle are sixth in the Premier League table with 26 points, 10 points behind leaders Arsenal, while Everton are third from bottom with seven points after their 10-point deduction for breaching financial viability rules.
