Newcastle United handed another Sunderland blow as key man rushed to hospital with breathing problems
Newcastle United defender Dan Burn was taken to hospital after being forced off in Sunday’s 1-0 derby defeat the Stadium of Light.
Newcastle United defender Dan Burn was taken off in the first half of Sunday’s 1-0 derby defeat against Sunderland.
It was a cagey first half of few chances before Sunderland broke the deadlock moments after half-time through a Nick Woltemade own goal.
Newcastle pushed for an equaliser after that while limiting Sunderland to just one shot on target in the match but ultimately failed to really test goalkeeper Robin Roefs, who was limited to a couple of comfortable saves.
It’s now 10 Premier League derbies without a win for Newcastle and a first defeat in five league matches for Eddie Howe’s side as Sunderland moved four points clear of them in the table.
To add insult to injury, Howe confirmed after the match that Burn has been taken to hospital in a worrying injury update.
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Eddie Howe issues Dan Burn injury update
On Burn, Howe said: “He's gone to hospital. He was struggling to breathe at half-time, so I think he's had a bit of a problem.”
Newcastle have a quick turnaround as they host Fulham in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night at St James’ Park.
A positive result would help Howe and his players bounce back from the disappointment of a derby defeat. But it’s a result the supporters won’t quickly forget, as much as they would want to.
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It was a game of no real quality in which Sunderland’s desire to win and defend their lead shone through against their lacklustre rivals.
But Howe stressed his players knew the importance of the derby despite the disappointing perfromance and result.
“100%, the players knew [the importance],” Howe said. “In our preparation we tried to cover every base in terms of the importance of the fixture.
“But I think in professional sport sometimes there's random events in games that dictate how the players feel and that's nothing to do with necessarily the preparation or the importance of the game.