'Looks significant' - Newcastle United defender facing lengthy spell out

Harrison Ashby has become the latest Newcastle United player to sustain an injury - and there are fears it could rule him out for a lengthy period.

The 22-year-old signed for the Magpies from West Ham United in January. He is yet to make a competitive appearance for United but did feature in pre-season, including matches against Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion at the Premier League Summer Series in the United States.

To continue his development, Ashby joined Championship outfit Swansea City for the 2023-24 season. The right-back has made 13 appearances so far but missed Wednesday's trip to Leeds United because of a hamstring injury.

He was forced off after 10 minutes against Hull City on Saturday and Swans boss Michael Duffs fears the severity of the defender's injury is "significant".

"I've not spoken to the physio, but when it's a hamstring and he's limping after a game, it never ends well normally," he said after 2-2 draw at home to the Tigers. "I'm not able to give a full diagnosis or a timeframe, but it looks like another significant one."

Ashby's injury doesn't impact Howe's first-team plans as such, but it does continue the unwanted theme of injuries. Another Newcastle player out on loan is Yankuba Minteh and he recently missed five games for Feyenoord before marking his comeback at the weekend.

During his time on the sidelines, Minteh travelled to Tyneside to be assessed by Newcastle medics. It's likely Ashby will be required to do the same if Duff's words run true.

As it stands, Newcastle's absentee list is the largest in the Premier League with Howe without Sandro Tonali, Jacob Murphy, Dan Burn, Callum Wilson, Elliot Anderson, Sven Botman, Harvey Barnes, Sean Longstaff, Joe Willock, Javier Manquillo and Matt Targett.