AS Steven Taylor began his recovery from an operation to repair a ruptured Achilles, the Newcastle United defender has been given a lift in spirits after encouraging words from the England camp.

Taylor was in outstanding form for the Magpies before sustaining the serious problem during the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.

Now he is unlikely to play again this season, having had surgery on Monday, leaving Newcastle manager Alan Pardew worryingly short of defensive cover.

Now Taylor must also come to terms with the fact his hopes of appearing in next summer's European Championships are over.

The 25-year-old had been on the radar of Fabio Capello in recent weeks and the Italian had had his assistant, Stuart Pearce, along to monitor his progress.

And while he had some work to do work his way into Capello's squad, there was a belief that Taylor was making inroads.

"Whatever is in front of Steven, who knows," said Pearce. "We are strong at senior level at central defence, but three years ago he was keeping Gary Cahill out of the team at Under-21s.

"Now Cahill is in the senior team and Steven had only just this year got his place for Newcastle back. Things can turn around quickly."

Pearce entrusted Taylor with the Under-21s captaincy during his younger days and always felt he had the potential and leadership qualities to step up to the full international ranks.

And Pearce has reassured his former skipper that his talent has been well noted.

"I had a great deal of confidence in Steven when he played for me, he was a great leader," said Pearce. "He has really been on the up again.

"If you turn the clock back a couple of years he had waned a little bit and this season he has gone up again. That happens with young players.

"He has a great deal of experience. He has been playing in a team that is doing well, and it has benefited him to play alongside Fabricio Coloccini, the same defender, in all of the games. He is a really likable lad."

Pardew has already held discussions with his recruitment team to come up with a plan for the January transfer window.

Montpellier skipper Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Birmingham's Liam Ridgewell, PSV's Eirik Pieters and Tottenham's former Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong are all among the targets.

* Pearce will be leading an England Under-21s team against Belgium at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium on February 29. Tickets are priced £10 for adults and £5 for children. Boro season ticket holders can purchase tickets at an even cheaper rate, with adults tickets priced at £5 and children £2.50.