Newcastle's Dan Burn rushed to hospital after suffering rib injury that left him 'struggling to breathe' in derby defeat to Sunderland

Experienced centre-half Burn had to be replaced in the 42nd minute of a keenly-fought contest on Wearside. It was unclear at the time how severe the knock he had picked up was, but he was last gasping for air at the half-time interval.

The decision was quickly taken for Burn to go to hospital. He was injured when sliding in for a challenge with Black Cats star Nordi Mukiele. The Sunderland defender - who was booked - appeared to make contact with his knee when battling for the ball with his derby opponent. Burn initially carried on after receiving treatment, but went down again and ultimately had to be replaced.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe told reporters after the 1-0 defeat when asked for an update on Burn’s condition: “He was struggling to breathe at half-time. It was a big problem. Dan Burn has gone to the hospital for a check of his ribs, so hopefully he will be OK.”

The Magpies’ manager added: “Unfortunate for us, we're losing players in one area of the pitch and our back line is stretched. We've got a number of absentees and so to lose another one in the colossal presence that Dan is, was a big one today. I don't know quite how serious it is. It looks like a rib problem. He's gone to hospital to get them checked. But that was a big blow for us because Dan's been an ever-present player.”

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Burn has started all but one of Newcastle’s 16 Premier League fixtures this season. His solitary absence came in a meeting with Manchester City on November 22, with a one-match suspension being served that day after collecting five yellow cards. He has also made the starting XI in all six of the Magpies’ Champions League matches in 2025-26.

Sven Botman, Newcastle’s other left-sided centre-half option, has not started a game since lining up against Brentford on November 9. He has been nursing a back complaint, but could come into contention for a home date with Chelsea next weekend.

William Osula and Emil Krafth have been ruled out indefinitely with ankle and knee injuries respectively, while veteran full-back Kieran Trippier - who is seeing his contract run down - is not expected to return until January and goalkeeper Nick Pope has sat out five matches with a groin problem.

Brazilian midfielder Joelinton did return to the Magpies’ matchday squad against Sunderland, with some relief on the injury front being found there, but he was an unused substitute at the Stadium of Light.

Newcastle slipped to a narrow defeat in the first Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 courtesy of a freakish own goal from German striker Nick Woltemade, who headed the ball beyond Aaron Ramsdale early in the second half.

The Magpies struggled to get going in front of a lively atmosphere, with Howe admitting that they had been hoping to put in a much better performance against their old adversaries. He said: “That is going to sting for a long time. We know our performance was off what we needed it to be. We defended pretty well, there were very few chances for both teams but the one big moment went against us. It was a bizarre goal to concede.

“Criticism comes with every defeat but this one will be louder and stronger because of the importance of the game. Sorry for the performance, really, in the lack of goalmouth action, the lack of clinical attacking we’ve tried to pride ourselves on.”

Newcastle sit 12th in the Premier League table, but are only four points adrift of the top five. They have a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with Fulham - as they seek to defend that trophy - to come on Wednesday and will have to wait until March before getting the chance to right their derby wrongs against North East neighbours Sunderland.