Obafemi Martins urged to put body on line

Apr 17 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

ALAN Shearer has challenged Obafemi Martins to prove his commitment to Newcastle United’s safety mission by playing with the groin injury which prompted him to withdraw from the match against Stoke City last weekend.

Although Shearer insisted his grievance with Martins has been forgotten following clear-the-air talks at the training ground this week, he would still like to see the Nigerian putting his body on the line for the club he professes to love.

United’s new manager has never doubted Martins’ claim of a groin problem and a scan this week confirmed there is some damage.

However, there is also a clear indication from Shearer that he does not believe it is serious enough to rule him out for any length of time.

Martins has not trained all week and is a major doubt for the trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, but Shearer has urged him to play through the pain in order to help keep Newcastle in the top flight.

“We have a few different scenarios,” said Shearer when asked what the player’s scan results had shown. “One is an operation, two an injection, three rest, four play through the play barrier.

“We know, obviously, what we want him to do, it is just a case of how much pain that will cause him.

“It is a matter of wait and see how he is tomorrow.

“An operation would rule him out for the season. Rest, we’d lose him for two or three weeks, the same for an injection.

“The favoured option is to try and get him to play through the pain barrier and see where we get at the end of the season.

“The scan has shown there is something not right in there. “Having had hernias myself, sometimes you can play through it and not do any more damage.

“We need everybody available to us. For him to play is our preferred option.