Having already seen Paul Dummett and Daryl Janmaat injured over the international break (though both have been cleared to return to training for the Leicester game), Newcastle are now sweating on the fitness of Tim Krul after he withdrew from the Holland squad. The suggestion is that this could well be flare up of the elbow injury that kept him out for six weeks in 2012-13, and if that is the case, it's bad news for Newcastle. Obviously, the club have Karl Darlow out on loan at Nottingham Forest, but the more likely solution would be a first team spell for Rob Elliot. Considering his form in goal - and his unfortunate fondness for leaking goals - that would be a problem heading into some key games, particularly against Spurs and Liverpool. So in that regard, Newcastle will hope that Krul's injury is nothing more than one of those international injuries that tends to bring key players home for Arsenal every season. That's not to say that something fishy is going on, but the conspiracy theorist in me will always look towards the last 7 cup fixtures Newcastle have played. Of those games, Krul has been injured for 4, and in 3 of those case, he has immediately returned to action for the next league game. Should that be considered suspicious? Well, in the context of Newcastle's apparent refusal to try in cup competitions it should be. And if that is the case, we can hopefully take some positive from the fact that Krul's track record suggests mysteriously quick recoveries are the name of the game. Fingers crossed anyway, because the alternative of having Elliot in goal for an extended period is not great - even if he does think he's worthy of first team duties.
