Newcastle keeper Pope out for ‘around four months’ with injury

Nick Pope, the custodian for Newcastle, will miss "about four months" due to a shoulder injury, the manager Eddie Howe announced on Wednesday, adding to his growing list of absences.

Pope of England, who had surgery on the same left shoulder in 2018 while playing for Burnley, dislocated his shoulder diving during the Premier League matchup between Manchester United and Burnley last weekend.

He now adds his name to Newcastle's long list of injured players, which has prevented Howe from benching many players from the youth team in recent games.

In a press conference held prior to Thursday's league match at Everton, Howe stated, "There's no doubt he needs an operation, so he will be out for a period of time; we think around four months."

"It's a different shoulder, but it's the same shoulder as the injury in 2018." That had no justification for occurring.

According to media reports, Newcastle is reportedly interested in both former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, a free agent, and out-of-favour Arsenal 'keeper Aaron Ramsdale.

However, Howe was eager to downplay rumours that he would sign a temporary replacement in January.
Howe remarked, "I've seen a lot of the headlines and press speculation regarding goalkeepers and other players."

"As of January, we haven't made any inquiries or decisions about our recruitment, and I've stated repeatedly that if we did so now, we most likely would be filling every position on the field due to the injuries we have across the entire squad.

"Hopefully, when January arrives, that picture will look different."
Martin Dubravka, a Slovakian, will probably start at Goodison Park after replacing Pope as a late substitute against Manchester United.

After being recalled from Manchester United in January, he played two Premier League games for Newcastle before being sent on loan to Old Trafford for the previous campaign.

"We have a deep faith in Martin. Howe continued, "I've always had such high regard for him.

"Martin is an exceptional goalie who excels at stopping shots.
"We have no qualms about adding Martin to the team; he has excellent footwork and distribution. I hope he performs exceptionally well."

Despite their injury problems, Newcastle has won their last two league games, including a 1-1 Champions League draw at Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Howe wants his team to get better away from home after they have only managed one victory in six away Premier League games this year.

"I'm excited for the upcoming game. Next up is a trip to Tottenham, so we need to improve our away performance.

Newcastle is only three points behind Aston Villa in fourth place in the standings, sitting in sixth place.