Taylor had only just returned from a knee ligament injury

Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor is likely to miss the first three months of the Premier League season through injury.

The 24-year-old has undergone surgery after dislocating his left shoulder in a 3-0 pre-season friendly win at Carlisle on 17 July.

"It's a blow for us because it was done early in pre-season, but also for him," boss Chris Hughton told BBC Newcastle.

"He now has to set his mind on recovery and getting himself back fit."

Taylor appeared as a second-half substitute in the 3-0 win at Brunton Park, but lasted only 34 minutes before he was forced out of the action.

He missed Newcastle's promotion back to the Premier League after picking up a knee ligament injury in January.

Taylor was playing in his first game since recovering from the injury.

His latest setback makes Wednesday's signing of former England centre-back Sol Campbell all the more timely.

606: DEBATE I would rather Steven stayed out of football until they're absolutely 100% positive that his shoulder won't cause problems again. We need another quality centre back and fast Heavy Metal TOON

In March of last season, Taylor was allegedly involved in a training ground bust-up with team-mate Andy Carroll.

Several newspapers claimed the former England Under-21 international suffered a broken jaw in the row, although the club refused to answer any questions on the incident.

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