Eddie Howe has scuppered any expectations that Nick Pope might return earlier than expected this month, stating that Newcastle United will be without him until April.
Pope hasn’t played since early December due to a shoulder dislocation that necessitated surgery during the Magpies’ 1-0 victory over Manchester United at home.
Pope’s return was mentioned as possible in mid- to late-March, but Howe told NewcastleWorld: “I don’t think we’ll see him this month; it’s more likely to be next month.”
“He’s recuperating nicely from his injuries, but we still need to exercise caution around him. A goalie needs to be in peak physical condition, particularly if they have shoulder problems. Thus, I believe next month.
The England goalie is limited to gym work and light hand workouts at the club’s Benton training base, although he is back in light training.
Martin Dubravka will continue to fill in in the interim, and although the Slovakian has played well lately—most notably in the FA Cup penalty shootout victory against Blackburn Rovers—Peter Pope’s absence may have been a game-changing injury.
Pope has been in goal for United, yet in 20 games, United has given up 19 goals as opposed to 35 goals scored in the same number of games.
With the exception of the most recent 4-1 loss against Arsenal, where Loris Karius made just his second appearance in a year, most of those goals have been scored with Dubravka in goal.
Since losing Pope, Howe’s team has only managed four clean sheets, two of which came against Fulham. Their first Premier League clean sheet since December 16 came from their 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
