Newcastle rocked by new Taylor injury

Steven Taylor suffered a nightmare Toon return ­yesterday as Newcastle won 3-0 at Carlisle.

Defender Taylor had been sidelined with a broken jaw – and this after having missed a chunk of last season with a knee ­problem.

But his long-awaited ­comeback ended in despair for the 24-year-old, as he ­sustained a shoulder injury during the game.

Back in the Premier League for the upcoming campaign, Newcastle’s first pre-season friendly saw Taylor forced to leave the pitch 10 minutes from time.

It cast a cloud over a match in which Leon Best finally broke his Newcastle goal duck.

Best joined the club from Coventry at the start of the year, and he scored three ­minutes into the second-half, with Nile Ranger and Haris Vuckic adding the other two.

Manager Chris Hughton had made 11 changes at the break, and Best scored after being put through by Wayne Routledge.

Ranger back-heeled home the second, and Best found Vuckic to make it three with a fine drive.

Bolo Zenden left it late to give Sunderland a 1-0 win at Darlington – a game in which the Black Cats were given a reminder of their infamous ‘assisted’ victory over ­Liverpool last season.

Sunderland beat the Reds with a shot that went in off a beach ball.

And ­yesterday’s match had to be temporarily halted when one was thrown on the pitch.

Zenden struck seven ­minutes from the end with a superb 18-yard shot.

Swansea, under new manager Brendan Rodgers, won 1-0 at Yeovil, thanks to a goal by David Cotterill.

Relegated Hull ­triumphed 1-0 at York, through a ­Daniel Cousin effort.

Leicester won 5-2 in Slovenia against local side NK Aluminij.