Fresh photo confirms extent of Newcastle United injury blow after surgery

Nick Pope is facing four months on the sidelines following an operation on his dislocated shoulder suffered in the 1-0 win over Manchester United last weekend.

Pope's injury adds to Newcastle's lengthy injury list with Martin Dubravka coming into the side in place of the goalkeeper. The Magpies have at least 13 players ruled out or deemed doubtful for Sunday's trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League (4:30pm kick-off).

The Magpies will be looking to bounce back from Thursday's 3-0 defeat at Everton. Ahead of the trip to Goodison Park, Pope was pictured at Newcastle Central Station with a sling around his left arm. The Strawberry Pub Twitter account shared the image along with the caption: "Our friend jimmy Culham helping a certain individual off the train today . Speedy recovery nick pope, from all @theberrypub @NUFC."

Despite Pope's significant injury blow, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe is still hopeful of seeing the goalkeeper back in action before the end of the season.

"The period of [recovery for the surgery] will be roughly four months," Howe said earlier this week.

As a result, Pope is likely to be out until at least April 2024 with no guarantee he will be brought straight back into the starting line-up. It will be dependent on the performances of Dubravka and whether the club decides to make a move for a goalkeeper in January amid links to Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale and former Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea.

"We really believe in Martin," Howe admitted. "I've always had that high opinion of him. We brought in Nick for the competition."