Newcastle United have suffered a major blow in the wake of the Tyne-Wear derby as the true extent of Dan Burn’s injury has been revealed.

Very few Newcastle United players would have known quite what the derby meant as much as Dan Burn, but the local lad didn’t even make it to half-time on Sunday.

Who was Newcastle United’s most disappointing player vs Sunderland?

Feel free to list all of them in the comments 👀

Gordon – looks like a world beater one game and an egg beater the next. No consistency at all

Woltemade was poor but I think that was more to do with how isolated he was. Elanga, on the other hand, was abysmal! What was Howe thinking??

Poorest – Willock just runs but can’t press or tackle, then takes out their keeper at the end giving them an excuse to time waste and distract. 2nd poorest – Elanga, under or over hitting passes and can’t receive a ball with slightest of pressure.

After a big collision with Sunderland’s Nordi Mukiele and a lengthy spell on the ground, Burn was walked off the pitch and replaced by Fabian Schar.

Immediately after the game, Eddie Howe revealed Burn had gone to hospital and was struggling to breathe. Now, we know a lot more about the injury.

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Dan Burn faces six weeks out

Yesterday, it was said Burn had suffered a fractured rib. Add to that a punctured lung, and it’s obvious we won’t be seeing the big defender for a while.

Now, the latest report on the matter from the Daily Mail has given a clearer timeline on Burn’s recovery period, and it looks like he’ll be missing for up to six weeks.

It’s now expected Burn will be out for the hectic festive period before hopefully coming back at the end of January.

The club is hoping specialist treatment can expedite his recovery, especially given Newcastle are now down to the bare bones in terms of defenders.

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Finish this sentence, the worst thing about Newcastle United’s defeat to Sunderland was _

Having to hear about it until at least March, would be my answer!

Newcastle made two disastrous signings, Elanga and Ramsey, this after selling Anderson to Nottingham Forest for a pittance. If Howe continues to make selection and substitution mistakes I can see him going out of the door.

Newcastle now have just four defenders

Burn joins a growing Newcastle injury list that also includes Kieran Trippier, Emil Krafth, and Sven Botman. That leaves Howe with just four fit senior defenders: Tino Livramento, Malick Thiaw, Fabian Schar, and Lewis Hall.

It’s now likely we will see youngster Alex Murphy more throughout the festive fixtures. The injury to Burn also leaves us wondering whether Howe will now look for a new defender in January to cover.

Squad depth has long been a concern at Newcastle and this latest blow really does push Howe and his players to the limit at the worst time of the season.

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