Kieran Trippier suffers broken metatarsal in left foot and faces a spell on the sidelines; full-back scored Newcastle's winner in 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday; Trippier: "I will remain positive and work as hard as I can on my rehab to be back fit as quickly as possible"
Tuesday 15 February 2022 06:03, UK
Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier is set to be sidelined for the club's upcoming fixtures after fracturing a bone in his foot during Sunday's 1-0 victory over Aston Villa.
The England full-back, who arrived at Newcastle from Atletico Madrid in the January transfer window, scored direct from a free-kick in the 35th minute against Villa to clinch a much-needed three points for Eddie Howe's men. It was Trippier's second goal in six days.
Trippier was taken off injured shortly after half-time, however, and, after the final whistle, Newcastle boss Howe confirmed he had been taken to hospital for an X-ray on his foot.
A subsequent club statement read: "The 31-year-old scored the game's only goal at St James' Park to help the Magpies to a third successive Premier League win, but had to be substituted early in the second half after sustaining a foot injury.
"Trippier underwent an X-ray immediately after the game and scans have shown a fracture to the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot. Everyone at the club wishes Kieran a speedy recovery."
Trippier later posted on Twitter: "It's really frustrating to have picked up the injury yesterday. We've built some momentum and long may that continue.
"I will remain positive and work as hard as I can on my rehab to be back fit as quickly as possible. Thank you all for your very kind messages of support!"
Dan Burn, who made a Newcastle debut in the 1-0 win against Villa, said Trippier is a leader in the dressing room.
"Tripps is a different level of quality that we probably haven't had here for a long time," Burn said. "He's won La Liga, he's a regular England international and he shows it, and the lads feed off him."
Speaking after Newcastle's victory, manager Eddie Howe indicated the injury looked like a potentially significant one for Trippier.
Howe said: "Trippier got stamped on and he couldn't continue with a problem on the top of his foot. We're keeping everything crossed hoping that there's no broken bone."
Speaking after the victory that took his side four points clear of the relegation zone, Eddie How told Sky Sports: "It wasn't the prettiest - and we're probably the first to admit that - but I think it was beautiful at the same time, from our perspective because the beauty was in our defending and in our detail. I thought the players gave everything to what was a difficult game - I don't think either side played the perfect game.
"We feel we have got a good balance; the shape of the team is good and we feel the organisation is there. We had to manage the lead and do the horrible things really well and, even in the last few minutes, the lads were putting their bodies on the line and stopping crosses and blocking shots - everything you need when you are in a relegation battle.
"In weeks gone by, we might have lost that game - or not won it - and now I think we are showing newfound resilience and confidence, so that is great to see."
Eddie Howe said it himself - it wasn't pretty. But Newcastle held on for a narrow victory and gave their chances of survival, which have looked slim for much of the season so far, a huge boost. The result moves them four points clear of 17th-placed Norwich with a game in hand.
There were not too many clear cut chances for either side, but the game was, ultimately, settled by a moment of quality from Kieran Trippier, whose wonderful curling free-kick - after Newcastle had seen a penalty downgraded to a free-kick by VAR Paul Tierney - sealed a significant win for the hosts in front of a raucous crowd.
While the winner was wildly celebrated, the cheers were perhaps even louder when Ollie Watkins' headed equaliser was chalked off for a marginal offside with the help of a second VAR review with an hour gone.
The manner of the victory was representative of Newcastle's revival: on nine occasions this season they have taken the lead in games and gone on to either draw or lose, while only on three occasions have they scored first and won, with two of those coming in their last three Premier League games.
Newcastle visit West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday February 19 at 12.30pm, while Aston Villa host Watford on the same day at 3pm.
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