Newcastle United have suffered a major body blow ahead of their Premier League clash against Manchester City on Friday night.

Steve Bruce's side will be without star striker Callum Wilson after news emerged that the summer signing had injured his hamstring in the Magpies' 4-2 victory over Leicester last week.

A statement on the club's official website read: "Newcastle United can confirm that striker Callum Wilson will miss the remaining two weeks of the season after injuring his hamstring during Friday’s win at Leicester City.

"The striker scored twice in an impressive 4-2 victory at the King Power Stadium, but picked up the injury in the closing stages of the match."

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of tonight's game against the newly-crowned champions, Bruce admitted that he felt like he could have perhaps prevented Wilson from getting injured.

He said: "I kick myself, really. In hindsight, I should’ve taken him off before that. It’s his other side. We’d expect it to be two or three weeks."

The 29-year-old missed seven games earlier on in the season with a hamstring injury, and it's been the only negative about the forward's debut campaign on Tyneside.

Since making the move from Bournemouth last summer, Wilson has bagged an impressive 12 goals and provided another five assists in 26 Premier League games, firing the Magpies away from relegation danger. Their next-highest scorers have just five goals each in all competitions, illustrating just how priceless the 29-year-old's contribution has been.

With the England international out of action for now, Bruce will now have to rely upon the likes of Joelinton and Dwight Gayle as his team's striking options, and neither have really convinced at all during their time at the club - this season alone has seen them score just four goals in 44 Premier League games combined.

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It's exactly why the news that not only will Wilson miss tonight's game against City, but also the remainder of the season, will leave Bruce devastated.

Meanwhile, Steve Bruce must drop this underperforming player tonight...