Our bruising loss to Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby will take a very, very long time to get over.
With neither side particularly good on Sunday afternoon, Nick Woltemade’s freak own goal and some poor performances has inflicted some serious pressure on both Eddie Howe and the entire squad from the fans.
It’s made the rest of December’s schedule, which continues with Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Fulham, which is an absolute must-win.
Sadly, however, we’re going to be without Dan Burn for not only the rest of the month, but potentially all of January, as details of his injury have emerged on Monday evening.
Burn set for up to six weeks on sidelines
According to The Mail’s Craig Hope, Dan Burn is set to miss up to six weeks of action after suffering a punctured lung and broken rib during the derby.
Left reeling after a studs-up challenge from the Mackems’ Nordi Mukiele, Burn tried to continue but was forced to be substituted before the first half came to an end.
After being sent to hospital after the game to be evaluated, it was initially reported that he had fractured his rib, and Hope’s report confirms just how long we can expect to be without the England international.
Keith Downie of Sky reports that Burn spent last night in hospital and is now in the hands of Newcastle’s medical team.
Defensive injury crisis deepens
Considering just how packed our schedule is for the next few weeks and beyond, this is perhaps some of the worst news Howe could have expected coming out of the weekend’s loss.
Assuming Burn misses the full six weeks, this will rule him out of Fulham in the Carabao Cup, potentially seven league games including each of Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa, the FA Cup game against Bournemouth, as well as the Champions League game against PSV.
The games against PSV and Liverpool come at the very end of the six week timeline, so they’re still up in the air over whether or not Burn will be fit and available.
The huge blow has left Howe with just four senior defenders at his disposal: the same four that finished the game at the Stadium of Light in Livramento, Schar, Thiaw and Hall.
With Hall and Livramento having just returned from their own injury layoffs, Howe may have to get creative in terms of who he starts in the defence for the next ten games: Jacob Murphy can of course play as a wing back, and Alex Murphy is an option as well.
Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth were previously listed as hopefully being back in time for the festive period, whilst Sven Botman’s return date is still unknown.
For the domestic cup games at the very least, this could (and should) open the door for the likes of Leo Shahar to step up and join the senior squad in Burn’s absence.
💙 Follow Us on Facebook
We share updates, news, and helpful posts every day.
Click below to like & follow our page to stay connected!
