Newcastle United surgery blow after 'bizarre' Man Utd injury - £47m duo could still follow

Newcastle United defender Matt Targett has provided an update on his hamstring injury suffered at Manchester United last week.

The left-back was handed a rare start in the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford but was forced off in the opening minutes as Newcastle went on to win the match 3-0.

Afterwards, Magpies head coach Eddie Howe claimed Targett is facing around three months on the sidelines with the player undergoing surgery on Tuesday as Newcastle lost 2-0 at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

“It’s not going to be a short-term fix for Matt," Howe said ahead of the match at the Signal Iduna Park. "He’ll be out for, I’d probably say around three months but that’s a rough estimate.

“It’ll be around that figure regardless of whether he has surgery or not.”

Following the operation, Targett took to social media to provide an update as he posted: "Still finding it hard to get my head around the injury.

"Felt so good going into the [Manchester] United game! Completely bizarre injury to happen in a couple minutes of the game!

"Surgery went well yesterday so I’m on the mend. Determined to come back better then ever."

Targett joined Newcastle for £15million in the summer of 2022 following a successful loan spell from Aston Villa. But since joining the club permanently the 28-year-old has been limited to just 11 starts in all competitions.

The defender will be the only Newcastle player undergoing surgery with Jacob Murphy requiring an operation following a dislocated shoulder and Sven Botman's knee injury also potentially needing surgery.