Newcastle United have confirmed that club captain and key midfielder Yohan Cabaye will be out until at least February as he needs further surgery on a groin problem.
Newcastle have been on an abysmal run of form which has seen them go through November without a single win in the Premier League. They face Stoke City this evening in the mid-week games and failure to win could see the club drop down towards the bottom three.
Newcastle signed Cabaye for just under £5 million in the summer of 2011 and he had an instant impact over the side with his leadership skills and his quality in the final third. His presence in the team is a massive advantage for the club and means they could be under immense pressure throughout the Christmas period.
The news means that Newcastle will be forced to struggle through December and the New Year period without one of their most creative and influential players.
Injuries to other key strikers means that Newcastle are almost clutching at straws in terms of creativity and need to find a different system or set of tactics which work for the current players in the side.
The absence of Cabaye also means that Newcastle stand a smaller chance of winning matches away from home when they go to teams such as Stoke.
The combination of Cabaye and Cheick Tiote in the middle of the team ensured that Newcastle were not going to get bullied by other sides and it’s no surprise that the club haven’t won a match while Cabaye has been absent and the pair haven’t been able to play together.
It’s also going to have a further effect on the team in terms of fatigue throughout December and January. A fit Cabaye would have allowed Newcastle boss Alan Pardew to rotate his midfield players and ensure that they all stay fresh as the games pile up.
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