Steve Bruce has dropped a double injury blow for Newcastle United before their away trip to Liverpool in the Premier League at Saturday lunchtime.
Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match against Jurgen Klopp's men at Anfield , the former Aston Villa and Sunderland boss has confirmed that Karl Darlow will be 'out for a few weeks' after having to have a small operation on his knee, while the game 'might come a bit too early' for Fabian Schar.
Double Newcastle injury blow
While Darlow has 'awesome' in back January when he had to fill in for the then-injured Slovakia international.
In the rare case that Dubravka were to find himself injured once again or even potentially sent off against the Reds, the North East club have now lost the opportunity to be able to call on Darlow from the bench, or of course give Bruce the choice of selecting the Englishman from the off.
Schar is a very important player for the Tyneside club, having averaged more interceptions (1.6) than any other central defender for the Magpies so far in the top flight in the 2020/21 term, as well as a highly respectable 3.1 clearances per match (Whoscored).
Nonetheless, the Toon will have to try and find a way to get something out of the game without the pair, with Schar's continued absence perhaps more likely to have a big impact.