NEWCASTLE United manager Bobby Robson will be forced to rethink his commitment to striker Carl Cort after skipper Alan Shearer revealed he is ready to play with a broken nose in Saturday's home game against Charlton.

Robson had pledged to persevere with off-key Cort, signed from Wimbledon for £7m in the summer of 2000, despite his struggles in the thrilling 3-2 weekend win at Derby.

Cort has failed to recapture the form he showed late last season, when he scored five goals in ten games, since returning in March from a near-ten-month lay-off with ankle and knee problems.

And with newly-crowned PFA Young Player of the Year Craig Bellamy poised to end almost two months on the sidelines with knee trouble, and Shearer declaring himself available, Cort could drop to the bench.

Shearer was expected to be out for a fortnight after suffering an horrific injury at Pride Park in an accidental collision with former United teammate Robert Lee.

Both players received stitches to bloody wounds but Lee was able to return to the pitch with his head swathed in bandages.

It was the second time this season that Shearer had sustained such an injury in a clash with an ex-colleague - he broke his nose following a tangle with Steve Howey in the FA Cup fifth-round victory over Manchester City at St. James' Park in February.

But Shearer insisted: "It won't be a problem and I will be out there against Charlton. After all, it's not the first time I've played with a broken nose.

"Fortunately it doesn't look as though I will need an operation. If they take the stitches out before Saturday, there should be no problems."

Shearer had five stitches, two more than Lee, and added: "It wasn't until I came round in the dressing room that they told me what had happened.

"Rob, myself and our wives had dinner in Derby on Saturday night and I must say the two of us were a sorry sight.

"I told him I wasn't too happy that while I stayed in the dressing room, he went back out with his head bandaged!"

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