Newcastle confirms Harvey Barnes has 'substantial' injury

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has confirmed that Harvey Barnes suffered a significant injury during their matchup with Sheffield United on Sunday. The news was undoubtedly the only thing that went wrong for the Magpies on the day. After all, Newcastle scored eight goals in the match against the newly promoted Blades.

While Barnes is set to miss multiple games, his manager was hesitant to put an exact timeframe on the injury. “It’s difficult. I don’t want to put a time on it until we get confirmation from the specialist, but I think it will be months rather than weeks,” Howe told reporters on Tuesday.

“It’s an injury to a part of the foot just below the toe. I think it’s quite a substantial injury. We’ve had it scanned. We’re waiting now for a specialist’s opinion on what to do next, whether there’s surgery involved or not.”

Barnes untouched while suffering odd injury with Newcastle

Howe then also confirmed that Barnes suffered the setback while attempting to make a run. Non-contact injuries to soccer players can be dangerous and a bit unpredictable. “I think he probably feared the worst because there was no one around him and he knew it wasn’t quite right,” continued Howe.

“There’s no doubt he’ll be disappointed because he was very keen to show his value and worth and Sunday was an opportunity to do that. But whatever the injury is, we’ll support him and we know he’s a top-quality player and he still has a massive part to play.”

Winger was receiving more playing time before setback

Barnes only just arrived at Newcastle from Leicester City in a $45 million deal back in July. Despite the big money deal, Howe has not given the winger much playing time. In fact, the attacker has managed just two starts in seven total matches so far this season. Howe has instead regularly opted to deploy Anthony Gordon on the left flank.

Nevertheless, the setback will surely be frustrating for Barnes. The former Fox star was beginning to receive more playing time in recent Premier League matches. Newcastle will be hoping that the injury is not as serious as feared. The Magpies have a packed schedule this season after qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.

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