Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes is expected to be sidelined for "months instead of weeks" after suffering a foot injury against Sheffield United.
The 25-year-old limped off during Sunday's 8-0 Premier League defeat at Bramall Lane after just 12 minutes, and head coach Eddie Howe fears he will miss a vital part of the campaign as he could have surgery. Asked if Barnes could be out for a while, Howe said:
"Yes, we fear that could happen. It's difficult. I don't want to spend any time on it until when we get confirmation from the expert, but I think it will take months instead of weeks." The England international, who joined the Magpies in a £38m summer move from Leicester, suffered the injury while out jogging in South Yorkshire and has since been examined. Howe said:
"It's an injury to the part of the foot just below the toes. I think it's a pretty serious injury. We've had it scanned, and now we're waiting for the doctor's opinion from the specialist about what to do, whether surgery is involved or not. “I don't think it was a tackle; I think it was just a push to get away, a very unusual injury.
I won't get too technical because I'm not medically qualified to do it, but yeah, very unusual. " Any prolonged absence would be a blow to both a player desperate to establish himself on Tyneside—Sunday's match was only his second for his new club—and to his employers, who have invested heavily in his services in their latest spending spree as they prepare for a season that includes the Champions League for the first time in two decades.
“He had to lie on the field after the game because he knew it wasn't a normal injury where you feel tight muscles and think it could last a week or two,” Howe said. “It's a bit more complicated, and I think he probably feared the worst because there was no one around him, and it was one of those mechanisms that he knew wasn't entirely correct. body.
“There is no doubt he will be disappointed because he was keen to show his worth, and Sunday is the opportunity to do that. But whatever the injury is, we will support him, and we know he is a player of great quality, and he still has an important role to play.
” The disappointing news of Barnes' injury comes as Newcastle turn their attention from a remarkable afternoon against the Blades to the task of finding a way past treble winners Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, their only honor that Pep Guardiola's army did not win in the previous campaign.
The third round draw is unlikely to give the Magpies, who lost to Manchester United in last season's final, a tougher task, although Guardiola hinted he could make changes Significantly due to injuries, his team encountered difficulties.
However, Howe, who was without Joe Willock and Joelinton as well as the injured Barnes, refused to let the Spaniard look after him. He said: "Pep is a coach who has won a lot and he wouldn't have done it without giving his all at every moment to try to achieve this success. I'm sure we We'll see Manchester City at their best tomorrow."