Pardew’s sympathy for Newcastle’s de Jong

De Jong this week suffered a collapsed lung on the eve of his anticipated comeback against Pardew’s Crystal Palace side on Wednesday night.

The 26-year-old, signed from Ajax last summer, had just recovered from a thigh injury sustained in early September.

De Jong – who has had surgery on his lung – faces another two months on the sidelines.

And former Newcastle manager Pardew feels de Jong’s continued absence will be keenly felt on Tyneside.

Pardew said: “They’ve been unlucky – they’ve had some bad injuries.

“Siem de Jong was a real body blow to them.

“We missed him when I was manager. We bought him to be that link player.

“It’s been a massive blow to Newcastle.

“They still have some very, very good players.”

United head coach John Carver had planned to include de Jong in his squad for the Premier League game at Selhurst Park.

Palace came from behind to claim a point from a 1-1 draw.