Newcastle United were rocked by an injury blow ahead of the final four games of the season.
Indeed, Newcastle United will almost certainly be without key midfielder Joelinton as they look to qualify for the Champions League.
Fourth in the Premier League as things stand, Joelinton has suffered a knee injury and is not expected to feature during the run-in.
That is a huge blow to Eddie Howe. The Newcastle United manager could certainly do with a full-strength squad as he bids to ensure a top five finish in the Premier League table.
Still, last weekend, Newcastle beat Ipswich 3-0 and what happened towards the end of the game brought some good news for Howe. Thankfully, Sven Botman made a brief cameo as he began his latest return from what have effectively been two seasons worth of injury problems.
Eddie Howe confirms “difficult” Sven Botman conversations
Botman is fit again for Newcastle, albeit rushing him back into action given the sheer number of games he’s missed feels unlikely.
However, having the Dutchman back in the side is clearly a huge boost. While Newcastle’s defenders have largely been brilliant of late, the 25-year-old brings much more in the way of speed.
Talking about the former Lille defender, Howe described Botman as a “transformative” signing for Newcastle, while revealing he had held “difficult conversations” with the player during his injury nightmare.
| Games | Games missed through injury |
| 72 | 59 |
“For me, he was a transformative signing,” he said (via The Independent).
“He had a real effect on our backline. The season that we qualified for the Champions League, our defensive record was excellent. The back four was very consistent and he was a big part of that, so we’ve missed him.
“Dan [Burn] and Fabi [Schar] have been outstanding, they’ve been magnificent for us in his absence, I can’t praise those two players enough.
“But Sven has got qualities that we love.”
Howe added: “Having spent a lot of time with Sven in the last couple of seasons, we’ve had some difficult conversations where he’s felt low, he’s been frustrated. That’s really difficult.
“I suffered a lot with injuries as a player, so I know exactly how all the players feel when they have a long-term injury, and then on the rare occasions these days when there are complications with an injury, how that frustration manifests itself with the player.”
Newcastle United’s new plan for Sven Botman after injury return
It would be foolish to force the defender back into action. Newcastle paid £35million for Botman and that has looked a bargain at times, but pushing the button on his full-time return too early could have yet more implications on his long-term fitness.
So then, it was promising to read suggestions Newcastle will ease Botman back into the team following his knee operations.
Dan Burn and Fabian Schar have been in solid form this season and there is little pressing need for an urgent change. Simply having Botman to call upon is a major boost in itself.
Hopefully, he can play a measured but key role in the final four games.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
