Eddie Howe confirms ‘strange’ fresh injury blow for Newcastle United

Newcastle United will be without Karl Darlow for around six to eight weeks after the goalkeeper suffered a “strange” ankle injury in training.

The 31-year-old, back-up to No.1 Nick Pope, was doing a routine drill when he twisted his ankle, where scan results later revealed ligament damage.

With United left with just two senior goalkeepers - Pope and Mark Gillespie - Eddie Howe moved to sign former Liverpool man Loris Karius on a free transfer.

Karius has put pen to paper on a short-term deal until January, although there is an option to extend his stay for the remainder of the campaign.

“The injury to Darlow was strange how he picked it up,” Eddie Howe revealed. “He was just doing goalkeeping training with two or three goalkeepers and twisted his ankle from a normal shot action.

“With that news, and our 25-man squad still being open at that stage, we decided it was wise to move for someone with experience who could compliment the goalkeepers we have and Loris was the outstanding candidate when we looked at the goalkeepers available, which was quite a small pool.

“He’s a really good age and had some incredible experiences in his career. He’s trained very well.”

Howe opted to include Darlow in his 25-man Premier League squad in place of Gillespie. It means Pope and Karius are the club’s only fit and available senior goalkeepers.

“You’re trying to juggle everything when you name the 25-man squad,” Howe told NewcastleWorld. “You can only make the decision to the best of your ability at that moment.

“Karl won’t be out long-term, we anticipate he’ll be back around six to eight weeks, we’re hoping it’s more six than eight, in which case he’ll be available for a lot of games.

“You’ve got Nick and Loris, so it’s a difficult one. Of course, if you get injuries to those players then you’re short but we can only make the decision at the time we know that we can.”