Newcastle United's Ryan Taylor facing 12 weeks out of action
Newcastle United right-back Ryan Taylor is set to be out of action for up to 12 weeks after picking up an ankle ligament injury.
The news came as a blow for manager Chris Hughton after the 26-year-old, who can also play on the right of midfield, apparently suffered the damage in a training ground collision with fellow defender Sol Campbell.
The English Premier League club confirmed that the England Under-21 cap will be on the sidelines over the busy Christmas period.
Hughton told the club's official website that: "It's very disappointing to lose Ryan for this period of time. Although he hasn't played as much football as he would have liked, he has been a very important and valuable member of the squad this season."
Taylor has made just four appearances for the EPL side this term after helping them to win promotion from the Football League Championship last term.
He has played in three League Cup matches this term and has made just one substitute appearance in the league after falling behind summer arrival James Perch in the pecking order.
Taylor will join the likes of Kazenga LuaLua, Hatem Ben Arfa and Steve Harper on Newcastle's list of long-term absentees.
The right-back started his career with Tranmere Rovers, with whom he scored 19 goals in 122 appearances before earning himself a move to EPL outfit Wigan Athletic in 2006 for a fee of 1.25 million pounds.
Taylor, who is known for scoring spectacular goals from long-range and for his accuracy with free-kicks, went on to play in 56 league games for Wigan over four-and-a-half seasons, scoring seven goals in the process.
Since moving to St James' Park in February 2009, Taylor has made 50 appearances in total for the Magpies and has scored six goals.
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