The midfielder has already been ruled out of the Christmas games and although he has been able to resume light training, his specialist has warned that the problem is more serious than first thought.
The injury list at St James’ Park now reads: Bellamy, Woodgate, Bowyer, Ameobi, Caldwell and unsurprisingly Cort, with LuaLua adding to the player shortage by jetting off to Tunisia on international duty early in the New Year.
Don’t expect Sir Bobby to indulge in any Liverpool-style ‘We’re missing Jamie Carragher so much’ rants though, as he’ll undoubtedly just get on with it, realising that the available players should be good enough to beat both Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers.
There are some potential beneficiaries though, with Michael Chopra, Nobby Solano and Nikos Dabizas all set to be given their chance in the coming weeks.