Early return for Shola thanks to mask for face ache

Posted on February 11th, 2011 | 6 Comments |

Shola Ameobi to get mask
Artist's impression
Newcastle United’s Shola Ameobi is targeting a return before the end of the month thanks to a face mask.

Shola is off to the States to be fitted with a face mask by NBA face mask guru Jeremy Murray. Said mask is likely to expidite Shola’s return to first team football, even to the point of him playing before February is out.

Shola had surgery on his fractured cheekbone this week and would normally expect to spend 6-8 weeks sidelined in recovery, but Alan Pardew reckons the specialist mask will allow Shola to play within 2-3 weeks.

Pardew said:

We’ve got good news on Shola. We’re sending him to America.

That’s not the good news by the way, Pardew continues:

There’s a basketball guy who specialises in protective masks for American NBA players. He’s the only guy in the world who does that kind of thing and we’re going to use him to protect Shola’s cheekbone, so Shola could be back in two or three weeks.

Shola’s sending out the signals that he’ll play with it if he’s given the guarantee that it will protect him and I think it will.

The guy designs the mask to reflect the injury.

I’d say the NBA is more physical than the Premier League when it comes to cheekbone and eye socket injuries. You’ve got arms everywhere and rebounds and stuff, so if someone in the NBA, a 6ft 8in giant, is wearing one of those masks, I think I’d feel confident wearing it in a football match.

Shola’s is a nasty injury and if he doesn’t feel confident going into challenges then there’s no point, so we’ve got to get him out to America, get it made and get him comfortable with it.

Apparently this Murray gadgie has done 500 of these masks for various eye and cheek injuries in the NBA, so he should know what he’s doing. I guess if he thinks Shola can play within a few weeks then it’s a just a matter of Shola having the confidence to do so.

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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6 Responses

  1. I preferred it when he stopped at ‘Strola is gooing to America’ end of… lol

    Only kidding, lets hope it works & he can come back as our super sub, as I still state he’s not a 90 min player & hasn’t been all season…. last 30mins is his best time imo.. :)

  2. Jaydee,the deal as far as I know is you feed him cookies in return for goals.
    During matches when his team are on the back foot fans have been known to throw digestives and jammy dodgers at him to increase The Monsters power.

  3. @JayDee, sirjasontoon

    Cookie is not here to SCORE goals – FFS – to create them!

    He will hold the ball up, protect it like a cookie, and lay off for Nolan and Best to score the goals.

    Route one to cookie
    lay off/through balls
    GOALS