Martins won´t be fined over Stoke absence

Newcastle manager Alan Shearer will not take disciplinary action against Obafemi Martins, despite the Nigeria striker’s late withdrawal from Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Stoke.

Martins was a surprise omission from the Newcastle squad at the Britannia Stadium and Shearer revealed after the match that the former Inter Milan star had only informed him six hours before kick-off that he was pulling out with a groin injury.

Shearer admitted Martins had shown no sign of the injury during the week, but he won’t fine the forward.

“He rang up and said he had a sore groin and unable to play. We got the doctors and physios to go and have a look at him, and he couldn’t play. But there was no evidence earlier in the week he had the injury,” Shearer said.

“After working on a particular system over the previous few days, then it was obviously disappointing to find out so late in the day he couldn’t make it, so we had to reshuffle the pack a little.”

The suggestion after the game was Martins had overslept, breaking a regimented routine implemented by Shearer, so fabricating the groin injury as a cover-up.

But Shearer added: “No, he didn’t sleep in at all. That’s not true. We met just after 11 o’clock, so he never broke any curfews or anything like that.

“I personally spoke to him and I’ll speak to him again on Monday and we’ll have another look at him.

“I wasn’t happy I got the call at 11 o’clock, particularly after we had trained all Thursday and Friday, had massages Friday, and there was no sign of it.

“But it’s happened and we’re hopeful it’s not going to be too serious because he has a big part to play.”