Big Lad, little problem

Three minutes of substitute action on Saturday was apparently all it took for Big Lad to twang his hamstring. Alan Pardew broke the news that our saviour against Spurs is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks.

Could this be the first sign that things are about to get much tougher for us? Ordinarily we wouldn't worry too much about Big Lad's enforced absence - he's consistently inconsistent, after all - but it does heap the pressure on Leon O'Best and Demba Ba both to perform (which they didn't against Wigan) and to stay fit. HBA might be assured of more football as a result, but he wouldn't be able to supply the general physical power of our B&B double act. We'll need height and strength if we're to get anything from the trip to the Britannia Stadium, for a start (which is also why I suspect Obertan Kenobi will continue to be preferred to Sylvain Marveaux for that fixture).