Harper out for months
Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton has admitted that goalkeeper Steve Harper will be out of action for months after suffering a shoulder injury during 1-0 win over Everton.
Harper went straight to hospital after a clash with Everton striker Jermaine Beckford. Scans quickly revealed the ligament damage that will keep the shot stopper out of action until at least after the
New Year.
Hughton said, "It looks like Steve has suffered a shoulder ligament injury. It will certainly keep him out for a period of time, although it would be a bit unfair of me to say how long at this stage. We
won’t really know until the next few days."
Newcastle is now under extreme pressure to make a decision over whether substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul will be given a long run in the side. Bringing a player in via the loan market is another possibility.
Pressure on the club
There is extreme pressure on Newcastle because Krul does not have enough experience as the club's number one. The Dutch goalkeeper has only played in one game for Newcastle this season.
The club could be forced into obtaining a goalkeeper (on loan) from another Premier
League side. There are a number of names being mentioned with Manchester City's Shay Given being the current favourite to return to his old club. But Given left Newcastle in less than ideal circumstances.
He openly criticised the Magpies in the media for the way the club was run prior to Newcastle's relegation to the Championship at the end of the 2008-09 season.
Hughton added, "I thought it was a challenge that didn’t need to have been made. Steve was always getting there first. I haven’t seen the challenge again, so it would be unfair of me to say whether it
was good or bad, but my feeling at the time was that it was unnecessary."
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