Newcastle injury crisis ahead of Marseille tie
The 71-year-old, who won the trophy with Ipswich 23 years ago, will spend the run-up to the game anxiously waiting for news of his battle-weary troops amid the fall-out of Sunday’s battling, but ultimately costly, 0-0 Barclaycard Premiership draw at Aston Villa.
Hamstring victims Craig Bellamy and Kieron Dyer, as well as Jermaine Jenas who tore a thigh muscle at Villa Park, have little chance of playing, while Lee Bowyer, who turned in perhaps his best performance to date in a black and white shirt as a substitute in the same game, has been nursing a sore hamstring ever since.
Shola Ameobi and Titus Bramble both missed out at Villa with thigh injuries, leaving Robson facing a major selection headache which even prompted the club to contact Portsmouth and attempt to recall striker Lomana LuaLua from his loan spell.
However, Robson was putting a brave face on things as he prepared for arguably the biggest game of his reign to date.
“I’m not ruling anybody out, but I’m not ruling anybody in either,” he said.
“We have grave doubts about obviously Bellamy, who didn’t finish the match on Sunday, Dyer, who did finish the match on Sunday but has hamstring problems and Jenas, who didn’t finish the match.
“In addition, Shola didn’t play on Sunday, neither did Bramble, so we have doubts about all of those players.
“Bowyer finished the game, but again finished the game slightly impaired and he hasn’t been able to train, so far, as I would have liked this week. So until tomorrow, I really can’t give us any idea as to the exact team that I will put out.”
Dyer, who played as an emergency full-back at Villa after Andy O’Brien’s early dismissal, has vowed to play through the pain barrier to aid his side’s cause, but Robson insists that none of the walking wounded will be risked if they are not fully fit with a gruelling schedule lying ahead.
“It will come down to that he’ll either be 100% fit to play or not,” Robson said.
“We have, after tomorrow, seven games in about 24 days and every game is important, very important.
“The one after tomorrow on Sunday is crucial also and I will not play players who are not fit because if I do that and they break down, they will come off the pitch worse than they went on. That would be lunacy and I’m not going to do that.”
That said, both Robson and skipper Alan Shearer are determined to hit Marseille with all the force they can muster.
“We’re looking forward to it,” said Robson. “It’s a tough task. We’ve just had a bit of bad luck at the wrong time in terms of one or two of our injuries, but whatever team I can put out tomorrow, it will be as strong as I can possibly put out and it will compete, it will do our fans justice.”
Shearer, who is bidding to become the first Newcastle captain to lift a trophy since Bob Moncur was handed the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup back in 1969, admits that the injuries have come as a blow, but he is relishing the challenge nonetheless.
“Bob Moncur keeps reminding me he was the last skipper to lift some silverware in a nice way, and I hope I can change that, we all do,” he said.
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