Ameobi Out For Rest Of Season?

According to reports this morning, Shola Ameobi is unlikely to play again this season. Ameobi has not trained all week in the hope that his hip injury will settle down enough to allow doctors to give him an injection of steroids which would allow him to struggle on until the end of the season.

Under normal circumstances, Magpies manager Graeme Souness has admitted the former England Under-21 international would probably head straight for an operation but, with the Magpies' playing resources already stretched to breaking point, the club are doing everything they can to patch him up until May.

Souness: 'We're really concerned about Shola's injury. All we can do at the moment is get him to rest and then see how he is on Monday. He's got absolutely no chance of playing against Blackburn at the weekend and there is a real danger he won't play again this season.

'Given the luck we have had this season with injuries, that would be precisely the sort of kick in the teeth we can expect to receive.

'That would leave us with just Alan Shearer, Albert Luque and Michael Chopra as strikers between now and April, when Michael (Owen) hopes to be back. God forbid, but if anything was to happen to Alan we'd be in terrible trouble. Alan is 35 and he was not supposed to be leading the line in every game this season.

'We're asking an awful lot from him and there is obviously a danger that he will pick up a niggling injury as well. I don't think anyone needs me to tell them how disastrous that would be.'