Trippier fighting to be back before the season ends - Newcastle's Howe

Kieran Trippier

, who joined

in January on a deal worth £12m from

, broke a bone in his foot after he found the back of the net in his side’s 1-0 victory over

on Sunday; it was their third after he arrived.

Eddie Howe

, the head coach, said:

"He has his operation yesterday and that went well, so that was good news. I don't know at this moment in time how long he's going to be out.

"We hope to have him back before the end of the season, but it's obviously a significant injury, which is a big blow to us because he was performing so well."

The 31-year-old has had great impact since he made the move, netting in each of his last two league matches and handing the relegation-threatened club new leadership.

Asked how long he is going to be out, Howe added:

"We hope to see him before the end of the season, but in terms of a definitive time, no. We're going to have to see how his early rehab goes.

"As I said, the operation was a success, but it's an opportunity now for someone else to step up in his place.

"But sadly, we're going to miss his leadership skills on the pitch and everything that he was delivering for us. He's scored two goals in the last two games which have been defining moments for us, but we're confident we have enough quality in the squad to cover."

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