Newcastle, England (My Sportsbook) - Just when it looked like things couldn't get any worse at St James' Park this season, manager Glenn Roeder announced that striker Shola Ameobi will likely miss the remainder of the season.

The Nigerian international has been troubled by a sore hip for months, but after a period of rest, it has been determined that he will head to the United States for specialist surgery.

The 25-year-old sniper has tallied three goals in eight Premiership contests this season. More importantly, the loss of Ameobi severely limits the striking options of Roeder, who is already without Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins, who are both rehabbing injuries. To make matter worse, forwards Giuseppe Rossi and Antoine Sibierski both picked up injuries in Newcastle's Carling Cup clash with Watford on Tuesday.

The club took another hit between the posts on Tuesday, when third-string keeper Tim Krul was stretchered off the field during warm-ups after suffering a knee injury.

The young Dutchman made his debut last week in the squad's UEFA Cup win over Palermo, and has been serving as the number two keeper behind Steve Harper in the absence of starter Shea Given. Krul was not expected to be involved in the match, but had his knee buckle while participating in a training session prior to Tuesday's contest.

"Tim got injured before the game in Italy last week, and we weren't sure then whether he had damaged his cartilage or just had a bang on his knee," Roeder told the team's website. "We had it scanned, and that didn't show anything conclusive and he was able to play against Palermo and had the most wonderful debut.

"We were not 100 percent certain that there wasn't some sort of cartilage damage, and sure enough, it looks like that has surface tonight."