Newcastle United suffer injury scare

The Newcastle United midfielder, playing for Paraguay, pulled up in added time time in last night’s World Cup qualifier against Peru. The game in Asuncion ended 2-2. Almiron – who had been elbowed in the face by Peru’s Carlos Zambrano earlier in the game – was replaced in the 95th minute.

Almiron has been in and out of Steve Bruce’s Newcastle starting XI this season. The 26-year-old was an unused substitute at the weekend, when United beat Burnley 3-1 at St James’s Park.

Paraguay have a World Cup qualifier against Venezuela on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, winger Ryan Fraser – who missed six months of football before joining United this summer – came off the bench for Scotland against Israel last night. Steve Clarke’s side won on penalties after the game ended goalless after extra time, and Fraser and his team-mates are now one game away from taking their country to a first major tournament since 1998.