The Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton will be sidelined for up to eight weeks after damaging his knee ligaments on Saturday. The 26-year-old limped off just 17 minutes into Saturday's 2-2 Premier League draw with Wigan after being hurt in a challenge with Lee Cattermole.

Barton left St James' Park on crutches and underwent scans yesterday which revealed he had suffered a slight tear to his right medial ligament. "After further assessment today following scans yesterday, he has damage to his right medial ligament and will be out for eight weeks," said a Newcastle spokesman.

Barton, who absolved Cattermole of any blame, was philosophical as he prepared for another enforced lay-off. "I am not blaming Lee Cattermole in any way for this injury," he said. "It was a 50-50 ball and we both went for it, and these things happen. Obviously, it's disappointing and frustrating, and my sole intention is to knuckle down and bounce back and get fit again to help the Newcastle United cause."

The injury will result in yet another interruption to Barton's career on Tyneside, which began last summer when he completed a £5.8m switch from Manchester City. A fractured metatarsal delayed his competitive debut, but the problems that have hampered him since have been largely self-inflicted.

He spent time behind bars on remand after being arrested following an incident in Liverpool city centre which later led to him serving 74 days in jail for assault and affray. Barton was also handed a 12-game ban, six of them suspended, for a training ground incident involving then City team-mate Ousmane Dabo.

He returned to action as a substitute in the derby defeat at Sunderland on October 25, and made his first start of the campaign three days later in the 2-1 home win over West Brom. However, with just two further appearances under his belt, he could well not play again this calendar year, further weakening the squad available to interim boss Joe Kinnear.