NUFC are one more injury away from asking UEFA if they can play 'rush goalie' tonight - opinion

With Nick Pope out for four months the responsibility fell to Martin Dubravka to tend goal for the foreseeable future.

Now though, Dubravka has emulated Pope by picking up a shoulder injury which could force him out of tonight's massive Champions League fixture against AC Milan.

Newcastle must avoid defeat tonight to stand any chance of remaining in Europe but may have to do so with Loris Karius between the sticks.

Loris Karius could be asked to step in for another huge game for Newcastle

The big lion-looking German is no stranger to filling in for Newcastle in goal in massive games having made his only appearance so far for the club in the Carabao Cup final.

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You'll be forgiven for feeling a tad uneasy at the prospect of Karius playing in the Champions League again given that his last appearance in this competition practically ended his career, but Eddie Howe clearly has faith in him given that he offered him a new contract in the summer, so we should too.

If anything, facing his demons in the Champions League might be exactly what he needs.

You've got to laugh or else you'll cry

There's still a chance, of course, that Martin Dubravka is deemed fit enough to play tonight, but if not we back Karius to do a good job. Let's be honest, it can't get much worse than Dubravka has been in the last couple of games anyway.

If things start to look really bad, we'll just ditch Karius and play with 10-men and have a rush keeper like we did when we were kids. Can anyone else just imagine Callum Wilson bellowing to his teammates that he's 'keeper now before tipping one over the bar in acrobatic fashion ... then landing awkwardly and being out of the season, because that's how things are right now.

Yeah, let's just get behind Karius, eh?