Eddie Howe says Newcastle United will offer Jonjo Shelvey all the support he needs after he suffered a major injury blow over the festive period.
The midfielder could be missing for up to two months with a calf injury after the issue compounded what has already been a tough campaign for the Newcastle star. Howe confirmed the blow in between the games against Leicester and Leeds over the festive programme.
He said: "It looks like six to eight weeks, unfortunately. I think he felt something in the game against Vallecano. We hoped it wasn’t serious. He resumed training, and felt OK.
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"A couple of days later he felt it again, so he went for a scan. It’s enough to keep him out for that length of time."
Howe then reflected on the setback for the midfielder after he'd shaken off a hamstring injury sustained in pre-season. Back then he limped off with a problem in the 3-2 defeat against Benfica in Lisbon.
Howe added: "It's really tough for him. He worked incredibly hard to be fit for our pre-season and be ready for the rigours he faced and the fact the team were playing a certain way, he wanted to try and be part of that.
"When he picked up his hamstring injury, we were really disappointed for him. I saw him work so hard to get back from that hamstring injury and he came back slightly ahead of schedule because of the work he put in.
"Now he’s going to be out again, it’s a big blow for him and for us. Of course, we’ll support him through this part of the journey."
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