Newcastle United are having to deal with a number of injuries at the moment, and a worrying update has emerged regarding one key hero at St James’ Park.
Newcastle injury news
The Magpies drew 2-2 away to Wolves on Saturday evening, and while a point was no disaster, it was disappointing not to win after going ahead twice in the Premier League clash at Molineux. It has been a good start to the season for Newcastle, in many ways, but there has been a slight lack of consistency at times, with their Champions League form highlighting that, having lost 1-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund last week.
Injuries certainly haven’t helped Eddie Howe at points, with the manager having to make do without a number of influential figures, whether it be the dominant Sven Botman in defence or Harvey Barnes in attack. There is now also Sandro Tonali’s ban that has been added to their woes, with the 23-year-old’s season over after receiving a 10-month suspension.
Newcastle host Manchester United in the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, taking on the team who beat them in the final of the competition last season, and a concerning fitness update has dropped in the lead-up to the match.
Botman injury blow
Taking to X, Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie confirmed that Newcastle centre-back Botman has suffered a setback in his injury recovery, relaying Howe’s quotes from his pre-United press conference:
“Eddie Howe reveals Sven Botman has had a set-back in his recovery from knee injury: ‘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.'”
This is hugely worrying news for anyone of a Newcastle persuasion, considering what a fantastic signing Botman has been ever since arriving from Lille last year. An influential presence at the heart of the defence, Botman’s stats in the Premier League so far season speak volumes, with a 92.2% pass completion rate coming his way, not to mention averaging three clearances and 1.2 tackles per game.
Sadly, the Dutchman has only been limited to five starts in the competition, due to his keen injury, and now having him unavailable for a longer period of time could have an adverse effect on the Magpies hopes of thriving across four different competitions. While the current available options are still good, including Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles, Botman has been hailed in terms of his quality, dominance and leadership, with Howe himself lauding him in the past and saying of him:
“We’ve become accustomed to it with Sven. He’s been so consistent, regardless of who the opposition has been, he’s found ways to perform to such a high level.”
The hope is that Botman’s absence isn’t too lengthy, especially as the busy festive period approaches, but if he ends up being out for an extended period of time, Schar and Lascelles will need to be at their absolute to make up for the loss of him,