has revealed that ’s No.1 goalkeeper may require surgery after being forced off with injury against .
The Magpies moved up to fifth in the Premier League table but it came at a cost with Pope unable to complete the match.
There was a break in play late-on as Pope was replaced by back-up Martin Dubravka on 86 minutes.
Howe, speaking about his goalkeeper’s injury after the victory against United, told the BBC: ‘It looks bad. It looks like a dislocation.
‘He’s done it before and had it operated on and come back successfully. But I don’t know what the future holds for him, I don’t know if he will need an operation or not, but we will get it checked out and fingers crossed he will be back soon.’
Asked about Pope on TNT Sports, Howe added: ‘It will be a massive blow for us if he is ruled out for any length of time.
‘It looked really innocuous, but that is usually the way and they are normally the more serious ones.
‘You could see he was in distress and it looked like he dislocated his shoulder just diving.
‘Martin Dubravka came on in a tricky situation with 10 minutes to go, narrow lead, which is not nice for a goalkeeper, so I have to compliment him for doing so well.’
Newcastle are back in action on Thursday when they travel to Everton in the Premier League.
