Newcastle United star opens up on ‘tough’ injury blow - ‘alternative’ has already agreed personal terms
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Nick Pope has spoken about a knee injury that kept him sidelined for nine matches and threatened his place as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Pope suffered the injury away at Brentford in December and didn’t return to the starting XI until the beginning of February. Martin Dubravka’s performances during a nine-match winning streak following that clash against the Bees meant Pope had to settle for a place on the bench until being offered the chance to start against Birmingham City in the FA Cup.
Pope then regained his place as the starting stopper when Nottingham Forest came to St James’ Park on February 23 and he has played in their five subsequent Premier League matches.
Nick Pope opens up on injury blow
Speaking ahead of his side’s Premier League clash against Crystal Palace, a match that was rearranged due to Newcastle’s participation in the Carabao Cup final last month, Pope spoke about the challenges he faced whilst on the sidelines: “It’s always tough when you’re injured as you feel like you’re missing out on training, games and being around the dressing room,” Pope said.
“Your day to day schedule is totally different to when you’re fit so there are loads of things that you miss and any footballer will tell you that’s the hardest part of the game. Luckily, I was really looked after by the physios and sports scientists and you are focussed on getting back as quickly as possible.”
With Dubravka as a very capable stand-in and Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy adding a wealth of experience to the goalkeeping department, Pope believes that Newcastle are well-stocked in goal and have the right type of characters to boot: “We’ve got a really good group,” the England international continued.
“When you’re in the goalkeeper union, you work together a lot every day and it’s really important to create and have a good environment to help yourself and each other because, ultimately, that’s what is best for the team. We’ve always had that since I’ve been here; an enjoyable but hard-working environment and that is something that’s always key.
“You like having a mix of young and old and the experience of other goalkeepers which you can lean on yourself. They have been in the situations that I have faced and you can trade stories and talk about past experiences, which is always something that is useful.
“The goalkeeper is such a specific position and so different to anything else so to have people you trust and who you can rely on for a solid view on the game is something I’ve always enjoyed having in my career.”
James Trafford transfer claims
Despite having a five-strong goalkeeping department, the Magpies have been linked with signing a goalkeeper this summer with Burnley’s James Trafford chief among the names being linked with a move to St James’ Park. Trafford was the subject of a bid from Tyneside last summer - one that was rejected by the Clarets.
However, as reported by Fabrizio Romano, personal terms between Newcastle and Trafford have been agreed and that a transfer this summer is one that could be pushed through if a fee between the clubs can be agreed.