NEWCASTLE UNITED midfielder Cheick Tiote could miss the rest of the season after returning from international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations with a serious knee injury.

Tiote is currently being assessed by Newcastle’s medical team at the club’s Benton training ground, and while a detailed prognosis is unlikely to be clear until the start of next week, there are fears the 28-year-old could face up to two-and-a-half months on the sidelines, a timeframe that would make him unlikely to play again this season.

Tiote played in two of Ivory Coast’s group games in Equatorial Guinea, but remained on the sidelines throughout the knockout phase as his side lifted the Africa Cup of Nations trophy thanks to a penalty shoot-out win over Ghana in the final.

Pictures emerged on social media showing Tiote sitting with his knee heavily bandaged, and while Newcastle’s staff were aware of the problem, it was only when the midfielder returned to England that the potential extent of the injury became clear.

An initial round of assessments has taken place, but further tests are likely next week to ascertain exactly how much damage has occurred.

Tiote has already suffered an injury-interrupted campaign, with a hamstring injury preventing him from appearing in the first three games of the season and a succession of other issues restricting him to just ten leagues starts.

His form in those matches was patchy, and with his contract due to enter its final two years in June, Newcastle officials will have to make a decision over the future of a player who was the subject of strong interest from Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow last summer.

Newcastle’s senior side do not have a game this weekend because of their FA Cup exit at the third-round stage, but the club’s under-18s entertain Chelsea in an FA Youth Cup quarter-final at St James’ Park on Monday.