ALAN SHEARER has been dealt a blow with the news that Steven Taylor’s ankle injury is expected to rule the defender out for Newcastle’s next two games.

Taylor underwent a scan on Tuesday that revealed a recurrence of a recent problem which is expected to sideline the 23-year-old for Newcastle’s vital clashes with Portsmouth and Liverpool.

Shearer has repeatedly underlined his determination to solve the Magpies ongoing defensive problems, but he’ll have to manage without the England U-21 skipper for the next couple of games at least.

Taylor, pictured right, was replaced during the interval in last Sunday’s defeat at Tottenham and he is now expected to be given time to fully recover from the niggling injury picked up against Arsenal that sidelined him from Shearer’s first two games in charge.

The club are hoping to have Taylor back for next month’s Tyne-Tees derby match, but Jose Enrique’s return to the training ground and the possibility of midfielder Joey Barton being available for selection has provided some good news for Shearer ahead of Monday’s must-win fixture at home to Portsmouth.

In the meantime, Kevin Nolan is being lined up to play a more attacking role to help the midfielder rediscover his goal-scoring touch.

During his ten years with Bolton, Nolan twice ended a season in double figures. But since joining Newcastle in January, he’s rarely threatened to open his scoring account after being tasked with a midfield holding role.

Magpies assistant manager Iain Dowie has revealed that Nolan’s days as a defensive midfielder could be drawing to a close as the coaching staff look to boost their threat in front of goal.

“I just think he’s played a lot at Newcastle where he’s not played in a position that has played to his strengths, which is getting forward and towards goal,” said Dowie, who has urged the Magpies midfielders to relieve the pressure on the team’s strike force.

“We need all kinds of competition in there – we’ve got Joey Barton, we’ve got Danny Guthrie, we’ve got Nicky Butt.

There’s good competition in those areas, we’ve even got Jonas Gutierrez who’s played in there as well. Kevin’s a vocal lad around the place, he’s a good character and he’s worked particularly hard.

“He would have liked to have got his goal return though. When I watched him at Bolton he used to get goals without questions.

“He’s a forward-looking midfield player and to be fair to Kevin, that has been restricted a little bit at times.

We’ve tried to free him up a little bit and hopefully that will get the rewards sooner or later.

And Dowie dismissed suggestions Michael Owen could be dropped after failing to find the net since January 10.

“We are very happy with him. We know he can pop up when people are least expecting it,” said Dowie.

“All Michael needs to know is that he’s got the faith of his team-mates and the staff here. That’s the key element, and he knows it and feels it.

“Alan knows the game in terms of being where Michael is now. Alan was there himself.

He knows how to deal with pressure. People only talk about him when he doesn’t score.

“He’s doing all the things that are right and one thing is certain – if chances come his way, he scores.”

■ Newcastle have unveiled their new home kit – worn by Jonas Gutierrez, below – which goes on sale on May 14 but is available to order from nufc.co.uk and official club stores. Anyone buying the shirt from the club up to May 17 will be entitled to a free stadium tour.