Newcastle United's Shola Ameobi will miss the start of the new season.
Newcastle United's Shola Ameobi has given Graeme Souness a headache in the striking department.
The 23-year-old hit-man has had a hip operation and misses the start of the Premiership season.
Furthermore, The Magpies are in InterToto Cup combat next month and Ameobi is obviously ruled out of any involvement in the competition.
"It takes a minimum of three months to recover so I won't be available until late August," stated the England Under-21 international.
"It's a bummer."
Souness is likely to have Craig Bellamy back in his ranks for pre-season training but the duo fell out spectacularly before the Welshman was shipped out to Celtic.
Patrick Kluivert has departed for Valencia but Alan Shearer postponed his retirement for another season.
