Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren has admitted that the injury-forced absence of Tim Krul for the remainder of the 2015-16 campaign comes as a major blow to the Premier League side.
The goalkeeper picked up a knee injury in Netherlands' 2-1 win over Kazakhstan at the weekend and consequently faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
"It's a bitter blow for Tim and for us," McClaren told the Newcastle website.
"I spoke to him on the morning of the game, he wasn't playing and - selfishly - I thought that was good, because then he would be fit for us. Then I got the news, the severity of the injury and how he did it, and it's a massive blow.
"Tim is a big part of us - he's a big player, a leader in the dressing room, and his goal was to establish himself in the Dutch side going forward."
McClaren is confident that Krul will come back from his knee injury, though, and has vowed that Newcastle will give him all the attention he needs.
"We will miss him for the rest of the season, and he loses seven or eight months of his career. It's going to be a very difficult time for him but Tim is strong, single-minded and he will come back from this injury.
"I've seen plenty of players go through this and come back just as strong, so we have no worries or concerns about what Tim will go through. The treatment and rehab he will get from us will be first class."
