- Pope dislocates shoulder
- Goalkeeper requires operation
- De Gea mentioned as possible replacement
Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope will face approximately four months on the sidelines after suffering a recurrence of a dislocated shoulder injury in the club’s victory over Manchester United. It was confirmed yesterday that the former Burnley custodian will undergo surgery.
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Dubravka set to deputise
The injury is a repeat of a problem he had while at the Clarets, where Pope was out for just over five months between July 2018 and January 2019. It is yet another injury blow to Eddie Howe’s side who could name a full starting eleven plus subs from the players who they currently have unavailable. Martin Dubravka is likely to come into the side. Longer term the club have been linked with David de Gea who is currently without a club.
Betting Implications
Despite the lengthy injury list, United are sixth in the league, three points off fourth and eight points from the top. They are still alive in the Champions League and are in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup. At the time of writing bet365 have them as fourth favourites to win the title at 40/1 and fourth favourites to finish in the top four. However, despite the quality shown by Newcastle this season, before and after the injury crisis, you have to question how long they can continue to put in performances and pick up points with such a weakened squad and so few options on the bench or to rotate the starting line-up. They face two tough away games this week at Everton and Tottenham. Bettors will have to assess how they think the squad will cope with the fatigue and will have to monitor their progress over the next month while checking on the progress of the lengthy injury list.
