Eddie Howe has given his pre-match press conference this morning ahead of the Carabao Cup clash against Manchester United tomorrow and has given a worrying update on star player Sven Botman.
The Magpies will meet their Carabao Cup final opponents of last season in their round of 16 clash of the competition at Old Trafford tomorrow evening and Howe will be without several key players as they continue to struggle with the demands of their congested fixtures.
Alexander Isak, Harvey Barnes, Elliot Anderson and Jacob Murphy are all out of action and unavailable for selection this week and are all suffering long-term injuries with the soonest return date for any of them coming after the international break, whilst Barnes will not be available until 2024.
It could not have come at a worse time for the Newcastle boss with not only a very difficult Carabao Cup challenge ahead, but Champions League group fixtures coming thick and fast, amongst a meeting with Arsenal this weekend.
The former Bournemouth manager took to his pre-match press conference to deliver another blow and worrying injury update amongst an already long-list of sidelined stars, revealing that Botman’s knee injury is not as straightforward as once imagined:
“There’s an issue there. We are working through various options to try & diagnose the injury properly. Does he fall into the longer-term category? Yeah, perhaps. But we’re awaiting clarity.”
“The timeframe on Sven Botman is unclear at the moment, we are taking it day-by-day with that one.”
What injury does Sven Botman have?
It remains unclear as to what exactly in the diagnosis and confirmed time-frame of absence Botman will endure over the coming weeks and months ahead, however, Howe’s admission will be extremely frustrating for Newcastle fans.
The Dutch centre-back has been one of the key players in the North East club’s rise over the last 18 months and has been a catalyst in the side achieving the joint-best defensive record in the entire Premier League last season, which contributed massively to their fourth place finish and Champions League qualification.
The 23-year-old sustained a knee injury in the 8-0 thrashing over Bournemouth in September but was thought to be back sooner than anticipated, as it appears that with Howe’s comments in his pre-match press conference today that he has suffered a set-back.
Newcastle’s squad is looking incredibly stretched given the amount of first-team experience lost through injury in the last few weeks and Sandro Tonali’s 10-month suspension has only added to the pressure being put on the remaining available squad members going into the immediate upcoming fixtures.
It will be interesting to see whether Newcastle can show the strength and resilience they have displayed on many occasions when they head to Manchester tomorrow and how Howe tackles the challenge of putting together a starting eleven who can compete comfortably in the absence of so many influential players.
