Newcastle United star Kieran Trippier has been ruled out of the Magpies trip to West Ham United next weekend after breaking a bone in his left foot.
The England full-back has been in fine form since his return to the Premier League in January and will be a huge loss to Newcastle during his absence.
The break came during the Magpies' clash with Aston Villa on Sunday and could see the defender miss out for a number of weeks. The Athletic are reporting that Trippier has sustained a fracture to his fifth metatarsal and will undergo surgery as a result.
The news will be a boost to West Ham's hopes going into the clash on Saturday with Trippier contributing at both ends of the pitch since his arrival from Atletico Madrid.
The right-back has scored two free-kicks in his last two matches and captained his new side as they saw off Villa 1-0 on Sunday.
Newcastle will struggle to replace Trippier's influence in the side and have injury issues with his most obvious replacement Javier Manquillo who suffered ankle ligament damage against Villa.
Should Manquillo also be ruled out of the trip to the London Stadium Emil Krafth is likely to step in for the pair.
Since Trippier's signing Newcastle's form has seen a huge upturn with the Magpies winning three and drawing one of their last four league games and moving out of the relegation zone as a result.
Despite the form of Eddie Howe's team West Ham are still favourites for the clash with the fourth-placed side expected to complete a league double over the Magpies after a thrilling 4-2 win at St James' Park on the opening weekend of the campaign.
