Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope has been out of play since early December, when he injured his shoulder during a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
The (former?) England goalkeeper has been a key component of Newcastle’s success over the last two seasons, and he was part of a record-breaking defence that kept 10 clean sheets in a succession last season.
Things weren’t going so well for Pope this season, with a number of his flaws revealed in many games, but since he’s been out, Newcastle has been leaking goals like there’s no tomorrow.
The difference between Pope and Dubravka is very noticeable
Martin Dubravka has returned to the Newcastle goal, and while he has made several amazing saves, he has also let many goals – not entirely his fault, mind you; the defence has been dreadful, but the data comparison between the two keepers reveals a lot.
Nick Pope has preserved seven clean sheets in 19 games this season, with an average gap of 92 minutes between goals. In 14 games, Dubravka has only had three clean sheets, conceding one goal every 43 minutes on average.
It’s excellent news, therefore, that Pope appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery, with Luke Edwards claiming that the stopper is close to returning to training. The 31-year-old was supposed to return in April, but it now appears that he could be training next month.
Will Newcastle be shopping for a new ‘keeper in the summer?
It will then be up to Eddie Howe and his medical team to decide how swiftly he can return to first-team play.
Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later so that we can shore up our backline and go on to one of those beautiful, sweet European locales.
However, in the summer, it could be a good idea to start looking for a goalie with ball-playing talent. As outstanding a shot-stopper as Nick Pope is, my heart can’t take it when the ball is played into his feet; you never know what will happen.
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