Nick Pope is set to be out for FOUR MONTHS as Eddie Howe confirms goalkeeper will undergo surgery on his dislocated shoulder

Newcastle keeper Nick Pope is facing roughly four months on the sidelines as he prepares to undergo shoulder surgery.

The England international dislocated his left shoulder during Saturday's 1-0 Premier League victory over Man United and head coach Eddie Howe is resigned to losing him for most of the remainder of the season.

'We anticipate he'll be operated on,' the Magpies manager said. 'There's no doubt he needs an operation - so he will be out for a period of time, we think around four months.'

Earlier this week, Mail Sport revealed that Newcastle are considering a shock move for free agent David de Gea as a potential replacement.

Howe has played down these rumours, insisting: 'We have not made any enquiries despite links.' He also added: 'We really believe in Martin Dubravka - I've always had that high opinion of him. Martin is a high class goalkeeper.'

Asked about his keeper's injury, Howe added: 'It's a big blow to us, but one we expected after the game as soon as you saw the dislocation. We were fearing the worst really.

'I think he'd been in the best form since he's been at the football club... naturally, he's down at the state of the season where we have so many games, huge games coming up.

'He's obviously got the Euros ahead of him, which he's still got a chance of getting in, but I think his main determination is coming back for us. 

'It was another strange injury for us. There was no reason for that to happen in that moment... but his dive was slightly different and unfortunately we suffer another injury to a huge player.'

Saturday's injury for Pope was a repeat of the dislocated shoulder problem he suffered while at Burnley, which kept him out of action for just over five months between July 2018 and January 2019.

Former Newcastle No.1 Martin Dubravka came on to replace Pope against Manchester United where he had a brief loan spell last season.

Dubravka helped Newcastle preserve their 1-0 lead as they secured a deserved victory against Erik Ten Hag’s side.

Newcastle also have Loris Karius, who faced Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final last season, and Mark Gillespie among their goalkeeping ranks though the latter has yet to play a league game since returning to the club in 2020. 

If the club were to make a move for De Gea, the Spaniard will have to most likely accept a lower wage than his £375,000-a-week deal at United to fit their wage structure.

The Spaniard would have obvious appeal given his pedigree, immediate availability and the fact he would not require a transfer fee.