Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has confirmed that midfielder Yohan Cabaye is to undergo surgery which will sideline him for several weeks.
The France international will have an operation on his damaged groin either later this week or at the beginning of next week after limping out of the Barclays Premier League defeat by West Ham two weekends ago.
Pardew said: "He will definitely have an operation, and we think it's going to be on Friday or Monday, I'm not sure. That's a blow to us because he's a top player for us."
Cabaye will definitely miss Thursday night's Europa League clash with Maritimo at St James' Park, and Pardew also has a doubt over striker Shola Ameobi.
He said: "The only one we are a little bit concerned about is Shola. He's got a slight groin niggle, so we are going to have to see how he shapes up for Thursday's game."
