Shola's out for the season

[sempuki]

Hip op Shola to miss rest of seasonNov 6 2006

 

 

 

 

By Alan Oliver, The Evening Chronicle

 

 

Newcastle United have finally admitted defeat with Shola Ameobi and his long-standing hip injury.

 

For United will this week book the gangling striker into a hospital in the States so that the top American specialist in this field can perform an operation.

 

And it means that, like Michael Owen, Ameobi will not kick another ball for United this season.

 

With Owen out and Oba Martins struggling with hamstring problems and Kieron Dyer and Antoine Sibierski also not available to him, Roeder was hoping to give Ameobi one final blast before losing him for the rest of the season. But the United boss admitted today: "Shola's hip has all but seized up and he will be going to America for his operation, but this is easier said than done because the specialist is so good that all the top sports stars in the States who have this sort of problem are queuing up to see him." The absence of Ameobi (pictured) means that United are desperately lacking physical presence up front.

 

Roeder was disappointed when Sibierski reported unfit on Saturday morning and missed the defeat by Sheffield United.

 

 

 

Roeder added: "Shola has been scoring in every other game since I took over in February and this shows just how important he has been to us, and he will be a big miss.

 

 

"We were completely ineffective in the last third of the field on Saturday and we didn't really create a chance."

 

 

Roeder will have another roll call today before United leave for tomorrow's Carling Cup fourth-round tie with his former club Watford at Vicarage Road.

 

 

And he says ruefully: "We are going to the land of the giants tomorrow and we know that Watford will bombard us with long balls."

 

 

*Celta Vigo United's next opponents in the UEFA Cup at St James' Park on November 23 beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the Bernabeu Stadium last night.

 

 

[Guest elbee909]

Roeder was disappointed when Sibierski reported unfit on Saturday morning and missed the defeat by Sheffield United.

 

What do you expect when you pick up a reserve player for nothing?  Gary Speed levels of reliability?  :roll:

[Rich]

So, we've known Shola's due an op for months now and because it's got past the point of no return recently we've tried to book him in ASAP... but now there's a queue for the surgeon so he could be sitting around for weeks before his rehab begins. Classic.

[Guest Darth Toon]

So, we've known Shola's due an op for months now and because it's got past the point of no return recently we've tried to book him in ASAP... but now there's a queue for the surgeon so he could be sitting around for weeks before his rehab begins. Classic.

 

Exactly.

 

If he'd had the op at the end of last season like he should have, he would be just getting back to fitness around about now.

[Skirge]

Old news, we knew weeks ago Shola would miss the rest of the season..

All that went on at the weekend and we this story again in todays peper. :roll: