Out! Injuries add to Souness woes

Last updated at 08:09 15 April 2005

Titus Bramble's heroic bid to help Newcastle reach the UEFA Cup semi-final could have cost him his place in Sunday's FA Cup showdown with Manchester United.

The 23-year-old turned in an excellent display at the Jose Alvalade Stadium just 31 days after undergoing surgery to repair a hernia, and when he limped off the pitch after 57 minutes the Magpies were on course to book a two-legged clash with AZ Alkmaar in the last four.

However, 1-1 on the night turned into 4-1 in an agonising final 19 minutes as Jose Peseiro's side took full advantage of Newcastle's injury woes to power their way through.

But on top of the disappointment of defeat, Bramble is now facing the prospect of missing out against United after damaging his groin.

"It is not a recurrence of his hernia, it is something slightly different, although it is still in the same area," said manager Graeme Souness.

"Titus has been outstanding for me in my time at the club and he was all for playing. He wants to be back in the team as soon as possible and that is why he played."

It was injuries to Bramble and, within two minutes, Kieron Dyer, the man who had fired Newcastle ahead on 20 minutes, which turned a game which until then looked to be going in the visitors' favour.

Injury blows

Even after Marius Niculae had equalised before the break, Newcastle looked likely to progress, but once Bramble and Dyer, preceded by midfielder Jermaine Jenas, had departed prematurely, things started to turn.

Sa Pinto levelled the aggregate score on 71 minutes before Roberto Beto powered home the header which gave Sporting the advantage for the first time in the tie six minutes later, Fabio Rochemback completing the comeback in injury time with a fourth goal.

Newcastle, who had earlier seen chances for Lee Bowyer, Dyer and substitutes James Milner and the disappointing Patrick Kluivert go begging, simply could not summon up a response, and a game which looked to be theirs for the taking had been wrenched from their grasp.

They now head for Cardiff's Millennium Stadium knowing that their season will effectively be over unless they can summon up a major performance.

But with Dyer and Bowyer suspended, Bramble, Jenas and Celestine Babayaro all doubts and Charles N'Zogbia having suffered a suspected fractured collar bone at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, the odds are heavily stacked against them.

Souness refused to be downhearted

Souness, however, refused to be downhearted, even if he may now have little option but to call upon the exiled Laurent Robert at the weekend.

"How do I pick myself up?" he said. "Not a problem. I have been in this business a long time.

"If we had managed to keep our starting 11 on the pitch, I would not be sitting here telling this story. I think it would have been a very different story.

"But we knew certainly with Titus there was a real possibility he would not get through 90 minutes because he has not had enough training.

We felt we had to take the gamble and we knew that with Kieron there was another risk, given that he felt his hamstring a week ago.

"They were two big risks for us and they did not come."

Dyer - we shot ourselves in the foot

Newcastle midfielder Kieron Dyer, however, admitted his side had shot themselves in the foot after self-destructing against Sporting.

"To concede four goals - you don't deserve to win any football match," said Dyer, who was forced off at half-time with what looked like a hamstring injury which is likely to keep him out of this weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.

"When we score the first goal we were comfortable. It is a shame because we had a great chance to win this tournament. We have shot ourselves in the foot.

"Our defending was not good enough, as a collective unit we were not good enough. The spirit was good. For 60 minutes we were really comfortable and then we just blew a gasket."

Dyer admitted Sunday's FA Cup tie now took on even more significance.

"We have got to pick ourselves up quickly," he told Five. "It is our only chance of silverware and getting into Europe so we have got to improve considerably."