EDDIE HOWE has revealed that Callum Wilson is set to be sidelined for eight weeks with the calf injury suffered against Manchester United last month.

Wilson was missing from Newcastle’s FA Cup defeat at the hands of League One side Cambridge United this afternoon, with his absence a key factor in the Magpies’ latest cup embarrassment.

While Cambridge goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov made fine saves from Jacob Murphy and Joelinton, Newcastle wasted a succession of decent balls into the box as their lack of a natural centre-forward told.

Wilson had a series of scans on Friday, with Howe now resigned to being without his leading goalscorer for a couple of months. As a result, the Magpies’ search for a replacement striker in the remainder of the transfer window has now become more desperate.

Howe said: “He had a scan yesterday because there was a slight doubt over his initial scan and we needed to let it heal a bit further.

“I think he’s going to be out for eight weeks.”

Newcastle are no strangers to FA Cup embarrassments, having crashed out of the competition at the third round stage in seven of their 14 seasons under the control of Mike Ashley.

Things were supposed to be different under Amanda Staveley’s new Saudi Arabia-backed regime, but thanks to Joe Ironside’s 56th-minute winner for Cambridge, the Magpies once again find themselves in a position where their hopes of winning silverware are over by the first weekend in January.

Howe said: “It was a really difficult day for us. I thought a lot of our play was pretty good, up until the last part. But our quality around the box was just missing.

“We put a huge amount of crosses into the box, with very limited success. We created a number of chances, but didn’t take them. Their goalkeeper played very well – he made a number of good saves – but the longer we went without that goal, the more confidence seemed to dip.

“We started brightly, and all the way through I thought the body language and the attitude was good. I’ve got no issue on that. The players desperately wanted to win, but we just weren’t good enough in front of goal.”