Jeff Stelling has claimed that one Newcastle United player is very likely to miss out on a chance to go to the Euros this summer.
It’s been a very difficult season for Newcastle with injuries and one big one has been the loss of Nick Pope who injured his shoulder at the beginning of December and will still be out for a matter of weeks.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Stelling shared how big of a fan he is of Pope but claimed that his injury is going to prevent any chance he had of being included in the England squad in the summer.
Stelling says key Newcastle man will return too late
When he first picked up the injury it was initially feared that that could be Pope’s season over and that Newcastle would have to rely on Martin Dubravka for the rest of their Premier League campaign.
Pope was a huge part of the reason the team were able to qualify for the Champions League last year and his performances in Europe, especially AC Milan and PSG, were nothing short of unbelievable.
Stelling himself is a huge fan of the 31-year-old who he labelled as being ‘fantastic’, though he admitted that his lack of ability to play with the ball at his feet does hinder his chances at international level.
The former Sky Sports presenter also claimed that his lack of playing time for Newcastle due to his injury is going to cost him a seat on the plane for England’s summer tournament, with Gareth Southgate already not too keen on the shot-stopper.
On the show, Stelling said: “I’m not sure that Gareth Southgate was totally convinced by him before his injury.
“I am a massive Nick Pope fan, but he’s not absolutely brilliant with his feet, he’s a fantastic goalkeeper.
“But he may not be back until the end of April, it’s too late [for the Euros], no games and Dubravka’s doing a brilliant job for Newcastle.
“He may not get straight back in there, so for me Nick Pope’s injury has come at a bad time, he does not get a seat [on the plane to the Euros].”
Pope could return to Newcastle sooner than expected
As previously mentioned, the expectation was that Pope will be out for the majority of the season with a number of rumours suggesting that the recovery time would be somewhere between four and five months.
However, a recent report now suggests that he could actually make a return by March and could have a significant part to play in the rest of Newcastle’s season as they push for an FA Cup and Europe.
Eddie Howe won’t be getting ahead of himself just yet given his recent record with injuries, but it will be great news to hear that his key man is looking to return ahead of schedule.
It will also be a huge boost to the goalkeeper’s England hopes if he’s still even in Southgate’s considerations for this summer.
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