Eddie Howe shares Newcastle injury news as star passed fit and Sven Botman progress outlined

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Eddie Howe has delivered his Newcastle United injury update ahead of his side’s final match before the international break.

The Magpies head to the East Midlands on Sunday afternoon to face an in-form Nottingham Forest side that currently sit third in the Premier League table.

Newcastle are looking to build on their back-to-back wins over Chelsea and Arsenal in their last games and head to the break on a high, but the team do have a number of fitness concerns.

Howe faced the media to preview the clash on Friday morning and gave a rundown of where his squad is at.

Eddie Howe issues injury update

Howe had good news concerning winger Jacob Murphy, who has missed the team’s last two games with a hamstring injury.

“I don’t think we are missing anyone new,” Howe said as reported by The Chronicle, “Jacob Murphy should be OK for Sunday. We are still working on getting the injured players back – they are all making progress.”

That means that, as expected, striker Callum Wilson remains sidelined and is looking to return after the international break, with Kieran Trippier also out of the picture to face Forest this weekend.

Attacking duo Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon have both come through the win over Arsenal unscathed following their recent injury issues.

Sven Botman timeline revealed

Centre-back Sven Botman has not played football since suffering an ACL injury March, but appears to be making progress in his recovery from injury.

“We hope Sven can begin light training in the next few weeks,” Howe continued.

“If we see him before the end of the year that would be a bonus. We are probably looking at more like January.”

Sven Botman’s return could come at crucial time for Newcastle

If Botman is able to come through the next phase of his recovery without any further setbacks, a January return could hand Newcastle United a big boost, not just on the pitch, but also in the January transfer window.

Newcastle continue to be linked with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, but if Howe can call on a fit and firing Botman again, it may enable sporting director Paul Mitchell to move onto other priorities in the January sales.

With Botman added back into the defensive mix alongside Fabian Schar and Dan Burn, attention could shift to attacking reinforcements, with a new right-winger emerging as a key priority for Mitchell when the window opens again in less than two months.