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Eddie Howe has admitted he is unsure when Nick Pope will return to action after he picked up a knee injury earlier this month.
Pope suffered the injury during Newcastle United’s defeat against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. Despite being able to carry on and finish the match, further tests on his injured knee has since kept him sidelined from first-team action.
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With a busy fixture list to come, including Premier League matches against Aston Villa, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves along with a Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg against Arsenal and an FA Cup tie against Bromley all to be played before mid-January, there is hope that Pope can be back and available for selection sooner rather than later. However, he is expected to miss at least their next two matches and Howe has admitted that it is ‘difficult’ for the club to put a timeframe on his return to action.
“He’s doing okay.” Howe said. “He was given a time frame initially where he got to rest and a couple of injections and his knee was feeling better. Quite when he’ll be fit is still a difficult one.”
In Pope’s absence Martin Dubravka has since kept back-to-back Premier League clean sheets, conceding just one goal in three matches. That came as a late consolation for Brentford in their Carabao Cup clash at St James’ Park last week.
The Magpies know a win against Aston Villa on Boxing Day would lift them above the Villains in the Premier League table before their trip to Old Trafford on Monday night.
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