Newcastle United will be without Callum Wilson for next week's Premier League clash with Chelsea.
Magpies manager Steve Bruce has confirmed the massive injury blow just days before his side were due to make the trip to west London as he must now devise a plan without the striker.
Wilson, who has scored 10 goals and provided five assists in 21 Premier League games so far for the Magpies this season, has been ruled out for up to eight weeks with a hamstring injury.
"Callum Wilson has got a tear to his hamstring so that could be six to eight weeks [out]," Bruce said, as per Sky Sports.
Furthermore, Newcastle have two other first-team players unavailable for the big game against Chelsea as the fallout from their 3-2 win over Southampton hasn't been too kind.
Centre-back Fabian Schar has undergone a knee operation and former Liverpool defender Javier Manquillo sustained ankle ligament damage last weekend.
And Bruce thinks the duo will also be out of action for the same amount of time as Wilson.
"Fabian Schar [also] has had an operation on his knee ligaments so it's eight weeks out for him," Bruce added ."Javier Manquillo did his ankle ligaments so he could be a similar time out.
"The aftermath of Saturday's game, losing three players including your centre-forward for weeks is a bitter pill to swallow.
"We hoped it was a grade one but unfortunately it's worse than that.
"We don't think he needs an operation but it takes time."
To lose Wilson is a massive blow for Bruce and Newcastle.
As mentioned above, the striker is their leading scorer this season in the Premier League and recently netted a brace in a rather surprising 2-0 win away at Everton.
With that said, Wilson's absence opens the door for Andy Carroll or Joelinton to lead the line against the Blues.
