Big blow: Newcastle dealt crushing injury setback, supporters will be gutted - opinion

Newcastle United are back in action on Sunday with another away clash in the Premier League.

This time, Eddie Howe’s side travel to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City, who are trying to secure the league title and keep it out of the clutches of Liverpool.

Newcastle’s previous outing saw them take on Jurgen Klopp’s side at St James’ Park last weekend but they ended up losing 1-0 thanks to a goal from Reds midfielder Naby Keita.

Now that the Magpies are set to take on the reigning league champions away from home, it appears as though they have been dealt a crushing injury blow which could well have an impact on how Sunday’s match goes.

Speaking in his latest press conference, Howe discussed the current injury situation regarding Fabian Schar.

The 44-year-old said: “We haven’t seen him this week. We hope he’ll be back to be available, but he’s not trained yet. He got a knock on the top of his foot, so he went for a scan after the Liverpool game because it was swollen up but fortunately there’s no fracture.”

While it’s positive to hear that there’s no fracture in the defender’s foot, it’s still a worrying prospect for Newcastle fans to possibly not have him available to take on Pep Guardiola’s side. Indeed, the fact that he hasn’t trained this week isn’t a good sign for his chances of being ready to take on City.

In terms of what he offers his team and what they will now be missing tomorrow, the 30-year-old has racked up 74 interceptions in the league this season at Newcastle, which is significantly higher than any other player in Howe’s squad.

Schar also has the second-highest number of clearances (120) to his name, as well as the third-highest number of blocks (38). This highlights just how much of a defensive