Another injury nightmare for Newcastle! Goalkeeper Nick Pope faces lengthy spell on the sidelines as Eddie Howe issues update

The England international landed awkwardly on his left shoulder, appearing to dislocate it, and was left lying on the ground calling for medical attention straight away. Play continued for a short while before referee Robert Jones was forced to halt proceedings for the injured goalkeeper. Pope was unable to continue and had to be replaced by Martin Dubravka who maintained Newcastle's clean sheet in their 1-0 win over Manchester United.

Speaking to TNT Sport about the injury, Eddie Howe was concerned: "I don't know if he will need an operation or not, but we will get it checked out and fingers crossed he will be back soon.

"It will be a massive blow for us if he is ruled out for any length of time. It looked really innocuous, but that is usually the way and they are normally the more serious ones. You could see he was in distress and it looked like he dislocated his shoulder just diving."

Howe already feels like everybody is against Newcastle, and now the injuries are too. Pope's joins a growing injury list for Newcastle whose squad is facing the toll of balancing Champions League and Premier League football for the first time. Callum Wilson, Harvey Barnes, Joe Willock, Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Jacob Murphy, Elliot Anderson, Matt Targett and Sean Longstaff are all out with various issues.

Pope has been a commanding presence in the Newcastle goal since his arrival from Burnley in June 2022. However, the England stopper's recurring injury problems may force Howe to consider exploring other options between the sticks.

Deputy goalkeepers Martin Dubravka and Loris Karius will have to stand in for Pope. However, neither are ideal, long-term solutions for a Champions League level side and Howe may be forced to dip into the transfer window in January - Arsenal's out of favour goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale, has been linked with switch to the Northeast.