Soccer:Newcastle's Stephen Ireland has been ruled out of the final four games of the season with an ankle injury. The Irishman is on loan from Aston Villa since January but has featured only twice in that time, having been injured on his arrival from the midlands.

Both of those appearances were from the bench and came this month, in a 1-1 draw against Blackpool last weekend and a scoreless home draw with Manchester United nearly a fortnight ago.

In all, he sat out the first nine game of his temporary spell on Tyneside, extending his wait for meaningful action after last playing senior football for Villa on December 6th.

“The on-loan Aston Villa midfielder sustained the injury during Saturday's draw away at Blackpool in the Premier League,” read a club statement this afternoon, “and after having it assessed by Newcastle United's medical staff he will be unavailable for the remainder of the campaign.”

Ireland recently spoke of his eagerness to return to competitive action, citing the confidence shown in him by manager Alan Pardew as a big motivator.

“It’s been really frustrating for me,” he said prior to the Blackpool game. “I have not really had a manager who has wanted me to play and I have felt like an outcast for a while. It’s nice to be treated normally for once. I haven’t had that in a while.

“I have come here now and even through my injuries, they kept telling me, ‘Listen, it’s not a problem, just get yourself right’. The loyalty they have shown me, I am going to repay that as much as I can. It’s been really frustrating, but it’s all behind me now, thank God, and it’s finally here.

“It’s finally come around that I can play and I just want to finish the season strongly and try to benefit the team in whatever way I can.”