Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey is facing up to three months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery to address a hamstring injury.
The PA news agency understands 30-year-old Shelvey will be out of action for around 12 weeks following the procedure at the weekend.
That means he could be unavailable to head coach Eddie Howe until Boxing Day at the earliest, with the Premier League breaking in mid-November for the World Cup finals.
Shelvey, who had returned to Tyneside following his summer break in excellent shape after working with a personal trainer in Turkey, suffered the injury during the club’s friendly defeat by Benfica in Portugal on July 26.
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