This season is turning into a much tougher assignment for Eddie Howe and his Newcastle side than the 2022/23 campaign.
With the added incentive of Champions League games comes added pressure and also the chance for more injuries.
The Magpies have already been struggling with the loss of key men during 2023/24 and they’ve been hit by another huge blow ahead of their Carabao Cup return against last season’s winners, Man United.
The Red Devils beat Newcastle 2-0 in the final, though in terms of current form, you’d be hard pressed to see how United can beat a swashbuckling and confident Newcastle side.
However, the loss of Sven Botman could hand the hosts a welcome boost as they look to beat Eddie Howe’s side in the competition for the second year in a row.
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.” #NUFC pic.twitter.com/i6rPfAMRtC— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) October 31, 2023
Eddie Howe's team news:
“The timeframe on Sven Botman is unclear at the moment, we are taking it day-by-day with that one. Alex Isak we hope will be back after the international break. I’m not expecting anyone back that we didn’t already have available for Wolves." pic.twitter.com/vHn7LXgOZ2
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) October 31, 2023
According to a tweet from Sky Sports News’ Newcastle correspondent, Keith Downie, reporting from Howe’s pre-match press conference, Botman has had a recurrence of his knee injury flare up and this has, apparently, put him in the ‘longer-term’ category in terms of getting back to full fitness.
The official Newcastle X account also recounted some of Howe’s words which explain that there’s no time frame on the player’s recovery at present.
Given how well he’s helped marshal the back line, losing Botman for an extended period of time is likely to harm the Magpies aspirations, and it remains to be seen just how devastating a loss this could be for the club.