Newcastle United have been dealt an early blow in the new season with club captain Dan Burn ruled out for the start of the campaign after suffering an ankle injury in training. The 34-year-old was in contention to face Liverpool in the Premier League opener, but the injury means he will miss the opening matches.

According to The Athletic, as reported by GiveMeSport, Burn rolled his ankle in training and is now wearing a protective boot to limit movement. The injury is not thought to be serious and surgery is not required, but the defender is expected to be sidelined for around two weeks. That would rule him out of Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie against West Brom and next weekend's trip to Tottenham Hotspur, as well as Sunday's match against Liverpool.

The news comes just days after Burn was named Newcastle's new club captain, succeeding Bruno Guimaraes, who moved to Arsenal. Head coach Matthias Jaissle had praised Burn's leadership when confirming the appointment, saying the defender is "a natural leader and a perfect fit for the role." Burn, a boyhood Newcastle fan who arrived from Brighton in 2022, has made 193 appearances for the club.

Jaissle's preparations for the opening fixture have been complicated by other absences. Vice-captain Joelinton is also out with a muscular problem. In the match against Liverpool at St James' Park on Sunday afternoon, which was Jaissle's first competitive fixture in charge, Malick Thiaw was handed the captain's armband. Thiaw started alongside Sven Botman in central defence, with Lewis Hall and new signing Amar Dedic named as full-backs.

The club has already seen full-backs Kieran Trippier and Matt Targett leave as free agents during the summer. Burn's absence adds to the disruption, though he had limited pre-season involvement, playing only 45 minutes in a single friendly against Strasbourg.

Burn's injury is the latest in a long history of fitness setbacks. According to reports, he missed time last season due to a bruised rib and has previously been sidelined with a broken foot, broken collarbone, torn knee ligaments, a shoulder injury, concussion, and a back problem. He also featured for England at the World Cup this summer, which delayed his pre-season.

Separately, The Sun reported that Burn caused controversy with a wedding stunt just days before the injury, drawing criticism from fans. One fan wrote: "Paper thin squad and you've got Dan Burn pulling stunts like this a week before the season starts."

Meanwhile, the match against Liverpool is expected to see Alexander Isak return to St James' Park for the first time since his move to the club last summer, though the details of that return were not specified in the reports.