Wednesday 30 March 2016 12:13, UK
Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot was stretchered off with a "serious" knee injury while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.
Elliot was hurt 14 minutes into Ireland's friendly draw with Slovakia on Tuesday as Miroslav Stoch opened the scoring.
West Ham 'keeper Darren Randolph came on to replace him, with Elliot taken to hospital for a scan.
Republic boss Martin O'Neill was downcast as he revealed the early signs were not promising, with the indications that Elliot has suffered ligament damage.
He said: "He's not great. He's got a serious knee injury. It's a real disappointment and obviously a dampener on the evening, particularly when he is getting his career together.
"He was going really well at Newcastle and looking forward to the game and coming here into the squad with a lot of confidence.
"I have just spoken to the doctor and he's not happy."
Asked if Elliot's season could be over, O'Neill added: "It might be too early for me to be making those assumptions. I was asking the doctor before I came out.
"I hope to see Rob - I think he's coming back to the hotel later on - but I don't think it's good."
Newcastle are already without the services of first-choice keeper Tim Krul, who ruptured a cruciate ligament while on international duty with the Netherlands in October.
Former Nottingham Forest keeper Karl Darlow is likely to replace Elliot at St James' Park, should the Irishman fail to recover for Saturday's Premier League game away at Norwich.
The injury will come as a blow to Elliot, who was aiming to secure a place in Martin O'Neill's Euro 2016 squad.
"With (Euro 2016) and the league to contend with, the next few months is probably one of the most important of my career," he told nufc.co.uk last week.
"I just need make sure I'm as focused and prepared as possible to make sure the season ends on a high and doesn't end up going to waste."
