The Magpies' striker misery deepened this evening when Ameobi was forced off in just the 13th minute at Craven Cottage after taking an elbow to the face.

The 29-year-old's injury came less than 48 hours after Newcastle sold Andy Carroll to Liverpool and is another huge loss from the club's goalscoring ranks.

"The diagnosis isn't good. He's got a dent in his cheekbone, which suggests that he may have fractured it," said Pardew, who admitted that would mean a four-to-six-week absence.

"It was a big blow to us during the game actually. It affected our game plan a little bit."

Ameobi's 10th-minute collision with Steve Sidwell appeared accidental and Pardew added: "Sidwell, I've worked with. He's an honest guy and I don't think he's malicious in any shape or form."

Newcastle would have been without Carroll anyway had he not been sold, as the striker was injured.

"He's irrelevant to what happened tonight," said Pardew.

"Shola's been very important to us, though. His performances have been very good.

"It was just disappointing tonight to lose him in such a manner."

He added of the impact of Carroll's departure: "I really want to talk about the game, but it is a factor on the game, so I'm not going to shy away from it.

"I thought the response from our fans was terrific tonight.

"They could've been super-negative about it and given us a hard time, or given me a hard time.

"I'm just disappointed the game was so scrappy. The pitch made it very difficult for ourselves and Fulham.

"It was two, three, four passes and then a mistake because of the pitch.

"We lost our way a little bit during the game, but there were some good performances tonight."

Pardew hailed goalkeeper Steve Harper and defender Jose Enrique, who he described as "absolutely superb" and "one of the best left-backs in this division", despite acknowledging the Spaniard was at fault for Damien Duff's 67th-minute winner.

But he was less complimentary about strikers Leon Best and Ameobi's replacement Nile Ranger.

"I will be honest about the strikers tonight. They weren't as good as they have been," he said.

"Young Nile has got a lot to learn and Leon Best, unfortunately for Leon, did not have a good night."