Newcastle forward Harvey Barnes is facing “months” on the sidelines after picking up a “very unusual injury” in the 8-0 win against Sheffield United.
Barnes, who joined Newcastle from Leicester in a £38m deal this summer, limped off after just 12 minutes of Sunday’s victory at Bramall Lane and manager Eddie Howe now fears the 25-year-old will be ruled out for an extended period.
Barnes has undergone a scan and Newcastle are now awaiting a specialist’s opinion to determine if surgery is needed on what Howe described as a foot injury.
“It’s difficult,” Howe said. “I don’t want to put a time on it until we get confirmation from the specialist, but I think it will be months rather than weeks.
"It’s an injury to a part of the foot just below the toe. I think it’s quite a substantial injury.
"I don’t think it was a tackle, I think it was just pushing off to run, a very unusual injury.
"I won’t go too technical because I’m not medically qualified to do so, but yes, very unusual."
