Super Eagles top striker, Shola Ameobi, may be out of the Eagles team to the Nelson Mandela Cup Challenge in South Africa as he sustained an arm injury that may sideline him for weeks.
The Eagles star at the weekend suffered an arm injury while playing for Newcastle United in a pre-season game against Rio Ave which the lost.
Already, Newcastle coach, Alan Pardew, is hoping to sign a new striker after Shola Ameobi suffered the arm injury on Saturday.
Ameobi came on as a second-half substitute in Newcastle’s 3-1 pre-season defeat to the Portuguese side, scoring his side’s consolation goal before being forced off following a seemingly innocuous challenge.
The 31-year-old was reported to have left the stadium with bandages on his arm, and Pardew revealed that the centre-forward had been sent to hospital for X-rays.
“The most worrying thing to come out of the game is Shola,” Pardew said.
“It looks like he’s hurt his arm and he’s going to have to go for an X-ray. We don’t know how bad it is. Everybody else is fine. It’s not really a position where we can pick up problems.”
A prolonged absence for Ameobi would leave Newcastle with Yoan Gouffran and Adam Campbell as their only available striking options for their pre-season tour, with Papiss Cisse left at home amid a dispute with the club over their sponsorship arrangement with Wonga
Ameobi scored Newcastle United’s consolation goal in a 3-1 loss to Portuguese side Rio Ave. He scored in the 76th minute.
The experienced Ameobi, who is not guaranteed of regular football action at Newcastle, may be sent out on loan in the new English Premier League season.
He has been called up by Coach Stephen Keshi for the Mandela Challenge against South Africa on August 14 in Durban.
He missed out on the Eagles AFCON triumph in February after a clause in his Newcastle contract stopped him from the tournament.
But he has since cancelled that clause meaning he is now totally committed to the Nigeria cause.
Pardew has previously expressed an interest in Aston Villa’s Darren Bent and Lyon forward Bafetimbi Gomis, with QPR’s Loic Remy also thought to be a target.
The 50-year-old is hopeful Newcastle can secure their first signing of the close-season in the near future, but, despite the defeat, he is not concerned over their style of play.
