FABIAN SCHAR is set to miss the final four games of Newcastle United’s season, with Emil Krafth expected to start tomorrow’s crucial game at Burnley.

Schar suffered a hamstring injury in last weekend’s 5-1 win over Sheffield United, and was unable to play in the second half after initially trying to soldier on before the break.

Scans have revealed the Swiss international has suffered significant damage, and he is not expected to return before the end of the season.

“Fabian will miss a period of time out with a minor hamstring problem,” said Magpies head coach Eddie Howe, whose side head into the weekend two points ahead of Chelsea in seventh position after the Blues beat Tottenham on Thursday night. “He won’t be available (for the Burnley game) and I doubt we’ll see him again this season.”

Newcastle’s central-defensive issues are a major headache ahead of the trip to Turf Moor, with Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles already ruled out until well into the autumn after suffering cruciate-ligament injuries.

Krafth partnered Dan Burn at the heart of the back four during the second half of last weekend’s win over the Blades, and the Swedish defender is set to return to the starting side as Newcastle take on a Burnley side who desperately need a positive result to aid their battle against the drop.

“We’re lighter than we’d like to be in that position, with Jamaal, Sven and now Fabian missing,” said Howe. “But Emil Krafth came onto the pitch, and I thought he played really well last week when Fabian went off.

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“Emil has played in that central position well for us this year, going back to that Manchester United game in the Carabao Cup. He was outstanding. It’s something he’s done before, and I have no doubts over his qualities.”

Nick Pope, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton have all returned to training this week, but it remains to be seen whether the trio will feature in the squad against Burnley.

“We’ve had Miggy and Joelinton return this week and take their first steps back to first-team training,” said Howe. “We’ve also seen that with Nick Pope as well, so it’s been a really good week to have three experienced, quality players back. It’s certainly given us a big lift.

“Will they be involved at Burnley? We’ll see after training. I’ve got to make the right decisions for them individually, and the right decisions for the team. They’ve been out different time lengths, but they’ve all had significant injuries. We need to make sure we get this call right.”