Newcastle: Martin Dubravka withdrawn from Slovakia squad | OneFootball

Eddie Howe has been dealt a huge blow over Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka’s fitness.

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The Magpies shot-stopper has been pulled out of his country’s squad for their international matches and will now return to St. James’ Park.

He is now set to deal with a heart problem and has become a major worry for Eddie Howe ahead of the club’s clash with Tottenham.

Slovakia boss Stefan Tarkovic told futbalsfz.sk, via The Mag: “Martin Dubravka suspects angina. Our doctors started antibiotic treatment for him.

“He is in isolation and will definitely not be part of the team in Norway and Finland. Ivan Schranz came together with an untreated member after a club match with Linz.

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“Since he still doesn’t have it right, after talking to the doctors and the player, I decided that he wouldn’t travel with us and return to the club.”

Livid

First and foremost, everyone will be hoping that Dubravka is okay and that there are no serious implications for him as he attempts to recover from these heart problems.

However, supporters will be livid because his absence will significantly weaken the team in the Premier League.

Karl Darlow is the current number two at St. James’ Park and his displays in the early parts of the campaign were extremely worrying. He started eight league matches and failed to keep a single clean sheet as he averaged a dreadful SofaScore rating of 6.43.

The ex-Nottingham Forest man was unable to grasp his opportunity to impress as he failed to show that he is capable of putting in reliable performances in the top-flight. He was nowhere near good enough, as he made one direct error leading to a goal and gave away a penalty, and supporters will not want to see him lining up between the sticks in a Premier League match.

Dubravka, meanwhile, has averaged a strong score of 6.84 and kept four clean sheets in 17 outings in the division so far. This shows that he has been putting in consistently solid displays between the sticks and has been a reliable option for Howe, whereas his backup has not been able to fill his gloves at any point.

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Therefore, fans will be frustrated at the prospect of the Slovakian missing any of Newcastle’s upcoming games as it would likely mean that Darlow plays in goal. They will be hoping that the Toon number one is able to make a speedy recovery as losing him will be a huge blow.