Robson fumes over Viana and Ameobi

If it was a bad Friday night for England's young internationals as the Under-21s lost 4-2 to Portugal in Rio Maior in their European Championship qualifier, it was an agonising one for Newcastle's bright hope, Hugo Viana, even though he was on the winning side.

The 20-year-old midfield player dislocated his left shoulder for the second time this season, having only recently returned from a three-month lay-off after initially sustaining the injury during a training session in November. On that occasion, Viana had his shoulder pinned, a procedure the club and the player hoped would ensure there would be no repeat.

But just 35 minutes into England's fifth successive defeat at the hands of the Portuguese, Viana was clutching his left shoulder again following a heavy fall. Although there is a slim chance he could return to help Newcastle's push for the Premiership title in just two weeks' time, it is likely he will now miss the rest of the season. Small wonder he lamented: "This is a season I want to forget."

The watching Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson is to request an investigation as to why the injury has reoccurred to the player he paid Sporting Lisbon £8.5m for last summer.

Viana, who returned to the ground with his shoulder strapped after requiring a visit to a local hospital, said: "It's the same injury. I am having very bad luck this season. I am very sad."

Robson's emotions were slightly different. "I am angered by it to be honest," he said. "He suffered a bad fall and his shoulder came out. Although they put it back in, it then popped out again in the dressing room when I went in to see him. As to how long he will be out, that depends on how much damage there is. They reckon if it settles down in two weeks, he might be able to play again this season.

"But as I understand it, after the shoulder was pinned the last time, it would never come out again. It has, so we need to investigate. The worst case is that he will need another operation to pin it again. We need to have it repaired to our complete satisfaction so he will be OK for the rest of his career."

The match had started on a much brighter note for Robson as he saw his Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi twice pull England level in the first half after Portugal had taken the lead with goals from Helder Postiga and Ricardo Quaresma, who is rumoured to be a target for Manchester United.

But with seven minutes remaining, and England beaten after second-half strikes from Carlos Martins and Cristiano Ronaldo, Robson saw Ameobi dismissed. The 21-year-old had been booked in the 65th minute following a scuffle with Portugal captain Ricardo Costa, before receiving his second caution for "unsporting behaviour". Ameobi thought he had scored his hat-trick goal, but French referee Bertrand Layec's whistle had sounded, and Ameobi was dismissed despite protests that he had not heard it. He will now miss England's game with Turkey on his home ground at St James' Park on Tuesday, resulting in a further bout of anger from Robson.

"Shola's dismissal was a disgrace," he said. "When referees referee without common sense, they are not good referees. The objective of a striker is to put the ball in the back of the net and then ask questions. But Shola simply never heard the whistle."

Meanwhile, Celtic's striker Shaun Maloney hopes he made his point to Scotland's Under-21 coach, Rainer Bonhof, by coming off the bench to score the only goal of their 1-0 win against Iceland at Clyde's Broadwood Stadium. Maloney, who has been instrumental in Celtic's Uefa Cup run, admitted to being frustrated at being on the sidelines for more than an hour.

"I was gutted I didn't start," Maloney said. "The last couple of times I played for Scotland I did reasonably well so when I came on I had a bit of a point to prove to the manager. Hopefully I've done that."