Harper was replaced by Tim Krul at Everton after falling in a collision with Jermaine Beckford

Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton has revealed keeper Steve Harper is likely to miss a considerable part of the season because of a shoulder injury.

Harper was carried off in Saturday's 1-0 win against Everton at Goodison Park, and Hughton admitted the immediate outlook is bleak.

"It seems it's a shoulder ligament injury," Hughton told BBC Newcastle.

"Which at the moment looks as though it will keep him out for a while, but how long we don't know."

Meanwhile Hughton has ruled out an early return for keeper Fraser Forster from his loan spell at Celtic, because of the terms of the agreement between the two clubs.

"At this moment he can't, he's there on a window-to-window loan, so at this moment he can't return," Hughton continued.

The former Tottenham coach also praised the displays of newcomers Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheik Tiote in Saturday's victory.

Ben Arfa netted a scorching winner on his full debut while Tiote caught the eye with a solid performance in midfield and Hughton has high hopes for the duo.

"You never know how they'll settle," Hughton told BBC Newcastle.

"If the two of them are as involved and playing as well as that come the end of the season we'll be absolutely fine.

"It was a super goal [from Ben Arfa], one I'm sure we'll see of great value on television over the next couple of weeks, but even more important than that is the impact he had on the game."

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