Newcastle's Champions League hopes received a second devastating blow this afternoon when skipper Alan Shearer was handed a two-match ban.
The 32-year-old was convicted by UEFA's disciplinary panel on video evidence over his clash with Inter Milan defender Fabio Cannavaro during Wednesday's 4-1 defeat at St James' Park.
He will now miss the trips to Barcelona on December 10th and Bayer Leverkusen on February 18th, and with strike partner Craig Bellamy also facing a ban following his dismissal in the same match, United's chances of an unlikely qualification for the last eight have receded even further.
Shearer was adjudged to have elbowed the Italian as he tried to free himself from the defender's grasp as the pair waited for a free-kick to be delivered into the Inter penalty area during the first half of Wednesday's game.
Neither referee Stephane Bre nor his assistants saw the incident, although the French official spoke to both players and took no further action.
UEFA confirmed the decision early this evening as United prepared themselves for the worst.
A statement from the sport's governing body in Europe read: "The decision was rendered on the basis of video evidence that showed the Newcastle player elbow Fabio Cannavaro, but also took into account provocation in the form of shirt-pulling leading up to the incident."