Newcastle are sweating on the results of a second scan on the knee of Jonjo Shelvey after the midfielder was injured during the draw at Bournemouth on Saturday.
Shelvey, who has attracted widespread criticism for his lack of effort in the build-up to both Bournemouth goals, was hurt in a collision with his own goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka, in the latter stages of the game at the Vitality Stadium.
The 26-year-old, celebrating his birthday today, managed to complete the 90 minutes but Sky Sports are reporting that Shelvey will require another scan later this week to assess the severity of the injury and determine how long it will keep him out of first team action.
It would be a significant blow for Rafa Benitez to lose one his key players for any length of time as he fights to keep Newcastle in the Premier League with 10 matches remaining this season, starting with his and Shelvey’s old club Liverpool on Saturday.
Mikel Merino, who has suffered injury problems of his own in the last few months, is most likely to step in to fill the breach left by Shelvey alongside the in-form Mohamed Diame in the United engine room.
