SIR Bobby Robson last night admitted that the joy of beating Chelsea had been severely tempered by the likelihood of Jonathan Woodgate's season being over.

Woodgate pulled a thigh muscle in the latter stages of yesterday's 2-1 win that lifted Newcastle back onto level terms with Liverpool in the race for the all-important fourth Champions League spot.

The former Leeds centre-half has been in commanding form over the last month as the Magpies have mounted a twin assault on both the domestic and the European front.

But, with four crucial Premiership games and the second leg of United's UEFA Cup semi-final with Marseille looming large, Robson is having to face the prospect of being without his leading defensive light.

The Newcastle boss is already resigned to being without Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer, Jermaine Jenas and Lee Bowyer for most of the next month, and Woodgate's injury has come as a further hammer blow to his side's hopes.

Andy O'Brien and Titus Bramble are just one booking away from a potential European suspension and, with able deputies thin on the ground, Robson has refused to rule out the possibility of recalling Stephen Caldwell from his loan spell at Leeds.

And O'Brien will miss the games against Wolves and Southampton after his sending-off at Aston Villa last week.

"We'll have to look at it and get all hands to the pump," said Robson. "We've had some rotten luck lately and it's been costly.

"It looks as though Jonathan's pulled his thigh muscle and, sadly, that could be the end of him this season. It's normally three or four weeks for that sort of injury, but it can be up to six.

"It's a further blow because there's now four of them looking like they might not play. It's a horrible thing to happen and it's certainly taken the edge off the result a bit.

"It hasn't taken the edge off the performance, because that was excellent. But it's taken away some of the edge off beating Chelsea."

Ironically, Woodgate's only lapse of the afternoon culminated in Joe Cole firing the Londoners ahead in the fifth minute.

But Newcastle responded with one of their best attacking displays of the season, capped off with sensational goals from strike partners Shola Ameobi and Alan Shearer.

Ameobi drew the Magpies level with a blistering drive from the edge of the area, before Shearer secured the points with a long-range half-volley that was reminiscent of the goal he scored to beat Everton last season.

"We won the game with two beautiful goals," beamed Robson. "You'll have to wait a long time to see a brace of goals like that in the course of a match.

"You would have to say that Alan's was one of the very best he has scored, although I don't really know which goal eclipsed the other because Shola's was a fantastic strike as well.

"Alan's goal was similar to the one he scored against Everton. He's hit it right off his lace-holes and buried it. It can't have been anything more than a blur to their goalkeeper."

Robson was also quick to praise Portuguese starlet Hugo Viana after he produced one of his best displays in a Newcastle shirt to contain the twin threat of Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele.

Viana has struggled to come to terms with the pace of the English game since making an £8.5m move from Sporting Lisbon two summers ago.

But, in the enforced absence of Jenas, he is finally showing signs of finding his feet amidst the hurly-burly of the Premiership.

"He's learning about the art of competitiveness," said Robson. "He knows all about elegance and skill, but he's got to learn about being competitive as well.

"It's a different game over here than he was used to in Portugal, but he's learning and I thought he did very well against a strong Chelsea midfield."

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