Newcastle United, who finished fourth in the English Premier League last season and are in sixth place this year, have received more bad news: goalkeeper Nick Pope, who injured his shoulder at the weekend, will have to undergo an operation and will only be able to return to the field after four months.
Pope, 31, dislocated his shoulder in what appeared to be a harmless situation when he made a routine save in the final minutes of Saturday’s match against Manchester United. Instead of him, Martin Dubravka entered the game in the 86th minute. Pope has played from start to finish in all of Newcastle’s league matches so far, as well as the Champions League. In the championship he has five clean sheets on his account, with which he shares first place in the respective calculation.
However, the injury proved to be so serious that it required medical intervention, which is why it is expected that Papa will not be able to return to the field until spring. However, the European Championship final will be held in the summer and Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has expressed hope that Pope will be fit and healthy again by then.
“Obviously he’s beat because we have big games ahead of us and a possible EC for him. We feel sorry for him because it’s another very strange injury,” Howe added. Among Newcastle’s key players, defenders Sven Botman and Dan Burn, midfielders Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock, winger Harvey Barnes and striker Callum Wilson have already dropped out during the season. Furthermore, midfielder Sandro Tonali, signed in the summer, will be banned until August for violating betting rules.
After Pope’s injury there was speculation that Newcastle could replace him, as neither Dubravka nor the team’s number three Loris Karius are goalkeepers of the same calibre. David de Gea, who left Manchester United in the summer as a free agent, is still there and there has also been talk of hiring Aaron Ramsdale, who has been demoted to Arsenal’s second goalkeeper role, but Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta doesn’t want to leave him he goes.
“I’ve seen a lot of headlines about both goalkeepers and other players, but we haven’t investigated anything about anyone yet. If we were to go after new guys now, we would have to do it all over the field. Right now, our other goalkeepers have a good chance of securing the place,” Howe said in response to the rumors.
Newcastle must first focus on tomorrow’s league match against Everton. They have a match with Tottenham ahead of them at the weekend and on Wednesday of the new week they will go to the decisive battle in the Champions League. To advance from the subgroup there, Newcastle must beat Milan at home and hope that PSG do not simultaneously beat Dortmund, who have already secured promotion, away from home. However, finishing third in the sub-group would also prolong their European season, as it would give them the opportunity to continue in the Europa League.
Pope’s teammate Wilson told the Footballer’s Football podcast that losing Pope would be a huge blow for Newcastle. “He’s single-handedly kept us in games several times this season. Not to say that our other goalies can’t step up and shine now, but Nick has been a game-changer on the back line,” Wilson said.
Eddie Howe on injury to @Popey1992:
“Nick has had a couple of specialist visits, we are waiting for definitive news on what will happen to him. There is no doubt that he will need an operation so he will have to be out for a while. This is a huge blow for us.” pic.twitter.com/7cYp2gtrQI
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) December 6, 2023
2023-12-06 16:43:26
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