Things are going from bad to worse for Newcastle United after it was confirmed goalkeeper Tim Krul will spend the rest of the season on the sidelines.
The goalkeeper limped off inside the last ten minute's of The Netherlands' 2-1 victory over Kazakhstan on Saturday and was seen leaving the Astana Arena on crutches.
Krul seemed to land awkwardly on the artificial turf and subsequent scans have confirmed he has suffered a cruciate ligament injury, which will see the 27-year-old miss the remains of the campaign. He has become the tenth player on what seems an ever-growing injury list at St James' Park.
Scan "confirmed my biggest fear"
The shot stopper admitted he was "devastated" to nufc.co.uk. He went on to say how the scan confirmed his "biggest fear."
Despite the injury he remains upbeat declaring his road to recovery "starts now."
He further went on to admit his devastation stems from the fact he I "can't play a part on the pitch" and "help the team" in turning their below par season around. Krul then said how he believes the club "should be up there with the top teams."
Goalkeeping injury dilemma
The news couldn't come at a worse time for a winless Newcastle side that sit at the foot of the Premier League table. To make matters worse, second choice 'keeper Karl Darlow is already sidelined with a foot injury and it is not known when he will make a return to action.
In line to fill in for Krul is 29-year-old Rob Elliot, who has only appeared 16 times for Newcastle in his four year spell at the club following a move from Charlton Athletic where he spent seven years making just shy of a century of appearances.
Freddie Woodman, 18, has been recalled from his loan spell at Crawley Town to provide some much needed back-up.