NEWCASTLE are likely to be without Steve Harper for a number of months after the goalkeeper sustained shoulder ligament damage in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Everton.

Harper was stretchered from the field at Goodison Park after suffering an injury in a first-half collision with striker Jermaine Beckford.

Beckford clattered into Harper as he cleared the ball at the edge of his area, and the shot-stopper appeared to injure himself as he fell awkwardly on his shoulder and collarbone.

Harper went straight to hospital for a series of scans on Saturday night, and while the results will not be officially disclosed until later today, it is understood that ligament damage has been confirmed.

That will require a lengthy period of rehabilitation, and Newcastle boss Chris Hughton admits he was disappointed with the challenge that resulted in the 35-year-old’s injury.

“It looks like Steve has suffered a shoulder ligament injury,”

confirmed Hughton. “It will certainly keep him out for a period of time, although it would be a bit unfair of me to say how long at this stage. We won’t really know until the next few days.

“I thought it was a challenge that didn’t need to have been made. Steve was always getting there first. I haven’t seen the challenge again, so it would be unfair of me to say whether it was good or bad, but my feeling at the time was that it was unnecessary.”

Tim Krul replaced Harper in the 35th minute of Saturday’s game, and having finally made his Premier League debut after a number of cup and Championship appearances, the Dutchman will now become a key member of the club’s starting line up.

What happens beneath him remains to be seen, as Hughton has confirmed he cannot recall Fraser Forster from his current loan spell at Scottish Premier League side Celtic.

As a result, Swedish 20-yearold Ole Soderberg is likely to be on the bench when Newcastle take on Chelsea in the Carling Cup third round on Wednesday night.

Krul made a useful first-half save from Leon Osman after replacing Harper at Goodison Park, and Hughton was quick to pay tribute to each and every player involved in the Magpies’ first away win of the season.

“The most pleasing thing for me was the team performance,”

said the United boss.

“Last weekend was a real disappointment because it was a home game and we know how valuable points are in this league. We saw that (the Blackpool defeat) as three points lost.

“Is Goodison an ideal place to come after a result like that?

Probably not, because of the quality they’ve got here, but I thought we produced an excellent performance from first minute to last.”

Hughton reserved special praise for Joey Barton, who shrugged off sporadic abuse from the home support to produce a commendably levelheaded display.

Having kept his temperament in check despite intense provocation at Wolves last month, the midfielder once again displayed a new-found maturity that contributed to Newcastle’s win.

“I think he can cope with the stick,” said Hughton. “We’re into our fifth game of the season and in terms of Joey, there’s always going to be places where he goes and gets a bit of stick from the crowd.

“It’s up to him to handle that and that’s what he’s doing. He’s handling it very well. Credit to Joey, he’s been top-class this season.

“He’s performing very well at the moment. We know if we can keep Joey training and injury free, we have a very good player on our hands. He’s part of a good team, but I’m pleased for Joey because I think we’re starting to see what a really good asset he is to us.”