Newcastle United goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen will require surgery after suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty with France Under-21s. The scan results have been deemed worse than first expected, leaving the 6ft 6in stopper facing a number of weeks on the sidelines, though no full timescale has been placed on his absence.
Injury setback for summer signing
The 21-year-old, who arrived from Reims in the summer in a £25million deal, has played just one game for the Magpies since joining. He was sent for an MRI scan before returning to Tyneside last week after apparent damage to his hamstring during the international break.
Jaouen had only just recovered from an ankle injury that ruled him out of three games for Newcastle. As a result, he missed the game with Luxembourg on Saturday and will now miss the clash with Coventry and numerous other fixtures this autumn.
Pope's role and Hornicek fitness
The injury means Nick Pope will remain as No 2 and is just a heartbeat away from the action as Newcastle nervously watch on to see if Lukas Hornicek reports back fully fit from the UEFA Nations League programme with Czechia.
Head coach Matthias Jaissle had held crunch talks with Pope just days after taking over when the club completed the transfer of Hornicek from SC Braga. Speaking after the 2-1 win over Valencia, Jaissle said: "I had a talk with Nick. I really appreciate what he did in his career so far."
"He knows exactly the situation right now, and we need to deal with it in the best possible way, but I always appreciate the player and the human being behind."
Carabao Cup decision ahead
Jaouen would have been in consideration for the Carabao Cup tie at Everton at the end of the month, but Jaissle must weigh up whether to keep playing Hornicek or offer Pope a chance to deputise. Pope last played for Newcastle during the 4-1 defeat at Bristol City in Eddie Howe's last game, on the eve of the signing of the Czech goalie, but he may yet have another chapter in his Newcastle career with a summer exit definitely on the cards.
