Newcastle boss Alan Pardew was suffering mixed emotions on Saturday evening after his joy at a sixth successive victory was tempered by yet more heartache for Ryan Taylor.
The 30-year-old utility man lasted just 34 minutes in his first league start for 993 days following two cruciate ligament injuries, leaving the field in tears with another injury blow.
Pardew later revealed Taylor's American surgeon, Richard Steadman, was among the crowd for the 1-0 win over QPR at St James' Park and accompanied him to hospital for a scan as all concerned held their breath.
Pardew said: "We are sweating with Ryan. Fortunately, his surgeon was here in the stands today, he had come to watch from America, so he's gone with him to hospital with our doctor, and we are just fingers-crossed on that scan.
"He feels uncomfortable with his knee, so the win is sort of tinged with sadness because he is a person and a personality who just not deserve the trauma he has had already, let alone another trauma, so we are just fingers-crossed that he is going to be okay.
"I'm sure all our fans and certainly all the squad and the staff are just thinking about him at the moment."
If Taylor's misfortune was to the forefront of Pardew's mind, he was at least able to comfort himself with a victory which took the Magpies into fourth place ahead of the evening kick-off, with Man United’s win over Arsenal knocking them down to a Europa League spot.
Newcastle, who have now not conceded a goal in 432 minutes of football, enjoyed the better of the game and but for QPR keeper Rob Green, who produced a fine one-on-one save from Ayoze Perez 12 minutes into the second half and a series of other important stops, might have had it won long before the decisive moment finally arrived.
However, captain-for-the-day Moussa Sissoko needed no second invitation when presented with the opportunity to secure the points with 12 minutes remaining, spinning on Sammy Ameobi's past and rifling past Green and inside the far post.
But despite putting together a run of five league wins on the trot, Pardew was refusing to be carried away and swiftly dismissed the inevitable talk of Europe.
He said: "What we have got is a real depth in the squad, which bodes well for the League Cup and bodes well for the Premier League.
"But I think if we were winning 2-0, 3-0 and really punishing teams when we are in possession a little bit more, I would be a bit more confident we could, so I think we are some way off that yet."
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