TO ALMOST audible groans of disappointment at St James Park and Lancaster Gate, Alan Shearer yesterday slipped into a nursing home and out of football for up to eight weeks. The world's most expensive footballer underwent surgery on his damaged right groin yesterday morning, just five months after having identical treatment, on his left groin.

While it is conceivable that the Newcastle United forward could be fully recovered in time to resume playing by mid December, he will, nonetheless, miss games of significance for both club and country.

Shearer will definitely be absent on Saturday week when England's World Cup qualifying programme resumes in Georgia, and even before then his loss will be felt on Tyneside when he sits out the second leg of Newcastle's UEFA Cup tie against Ferencvaros of Hungary next week.

Indeed Shearer could miss nine games for the club which invested £15 million in him this summer.

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan is seemingly already resigned to being without him for five Premiership fixtures, Tuesday's meeting with Ferencvaros, two other possible UEFA Cup ties and the League Cup fourth round game against neighbours Middlesbrough.

Those who will feel most keenly the loss of a player of incalculable worth were almost queuing up to register their sense of shock yesterday. "Alan has been suffering from a slight groin strain since the end of Euro 96, but specialist medical advice informed us that he would be able to play on until the end of the season," said Keegan.

But it would seem the picture darkened considerably at the weekend after Shearer had made a healthy contribution to Newcastle's emphatic 5-0 win over Manchester United. "He aggravated the injury during that game and so we decided to act quickly," said Keegan.

"He will be out for six to eight weeks, which is obviously a blow for us in the championship race. However, we have to believe we have got a squad deep enough and good enough to compensate."

England coach Glenn Hoddle admitted he had received prior warning of his captain's medical condition.