(Reuters) – Newcastle United winger Jacob Murphy could be out of action for three months due to a shoulder injury that requires an operation, manager Eddie Howe said on Saturday.
Murphy’s is the latest in a long list of injuries at Newcastle that have sidelined key players, including Sven Botman, Alexander Isak, Harvey Barnes and Elliot Anderson.
The 28-year-old Murphy, who sustained an initial injury during Newcastle’s 1-0 home loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last month, was brought on as a second-half substitute against Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday but suffered another shoulder dislocation after about 15 minutes.
Newcastle, sixth in the league, handed third-placed Arsenal their first top-flight defeat of the season with a 1-0 win at St James’ Park, thanks to a controversial second-half goal by Anthony Gordon after a long Video Assistant Referee review.
“With Jacob, we always knew there was a chance that he could do his shoulder again, but he was prepared to take the risk,” Howe said. “Unfortunately, we lost him during the game, and we will lose him now to an operation.
“It’s obviously a huge blow. Off the top of my head, I’m not completely sure how long he will be out for, but it’ll probably be around three months, I would think.”
Another concern to Howe was injury to defender Dan Burn, who landed hard on his back after a strong tackle and did not return for the second half. Burn, 31, was shown walking gingerly to the dugout.
Burn is “in a lot of pain at the moment. That looks worrying for us,” Howe said.
Newcastle travel to Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday before facing Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
