Newcastle United's ace striker Alan Shearer is gambling on a steroid injection in a bid to face Bradford City at St James' Park on Saturday.

The former England captain is suffering from tendonitis in a knee and may need a long rest or an operation if the treatment fails.

Shearer underwent his third jab yesterday as City's England striker Stan Collymore entered hospital to have his troublesome wisdom teeth removed.

While the Bantams are cashing in on Collymore's absence from the next three games through suspension to sort out his problem, Newcastle are desperate to get Shearer fit to play.

The 30-year-old scored twice when the Magpies defeated City 4-3 in the Worthington Cup last month and the the pressure on him to return has intensified after Saturday's 5-0 drubbing by Arsenal.

Shearer's re-appearance after missing that match would go a long way towards easing the mounting frustration of the Newcastle fans.

Manager Bobby Robson already has £7m striker Carl Cort and Scottish international Kevin Gallagher among his long term absentees.

A Newcastle spokesman said: "Alan had the injection yesterday and the doctors now have to wait a couple of days to see how it works. They will look at the injury again in a couple of days and a decision will be taken then."

The Newcastle board have blocked Robson's attempts to buy a new striker.

He has inquired about Inter Milan's Robbie Keane and Blackburn's Egil Ostenstad and has even tried unsuccessfully to get Wimbledon's John Hartson on loan.

With Collymore out, City will have to make a change to their strike force.

Ashley Ward, whose only two goals for City came at Newcastle in the Worthing-ton Cup, is expected to return to full training tomorrow.

It could be a straight choice between him and the revitalised Robbie Blake to partner Dean Windass up front.

Midfield player Billy McKinlay is also due to resume training tomorrow after missing the 3-3 draw with Tottenham through a hamstring injury.

Fellow midfielder Gareth Whalley underwent a groin operation yesterday.

Boss Jim Jefferies is going to watch the progress of Ward and McKinlay before finalising his team.

Meanwhile the City manager has spelt out his desire to see his players work harder to retain possession.

He said: "We are causing ourselves problems because we give the ball away too easily.

"We put the emphasis in training on keeping possession and being patient when we get into the other team's half of the field. You cannot afford to give possession away.

"I want us to play at a high tempo and get the balance right between the desire to play good football but not to take too much away from the application and aggression we need for the position we are in.

"It is a question of getting back the players' confidence and belief. Every single point is precious to us."