Newcastle United fans believe there is an early injury concern within the first-team squad after seeing one player heavily strapped up during the pre-season camp in Austria.
The Premier League season is upon us, but Eddie Howe’s side have a busy pre-season schedule to worry about before the first game away at Aston Villa.
Newcastle United take on Celtic this Saturday in the first ever Adidas Trophy. Reports suggest there will be over 10,000 Geordies at Celtic Park for the game which could see the debut of Anthony Elanga.
Following the game in Glasgow, Newcastle travel to Singapore and South Korea before returning to St James’ Park, with a Sela Cup game against Atletico Madrid rounding off their friendlies ahead of the 2025/26 season.
For now, Newcastle have travelled to Austria for a short pre-season camp. There were concerns that Alexander Isak did not travel to Austria, but he and Sandro Tonali appeared to be late arrivals to the camp. As the players enjoy more training before the Celtic game, Newcastle fans have grown concerned after seeing a player with a heavily strapped-up knee.
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Sven Botman pictured with a strapped-up knee during Newcastle United training
Sven Botman is no stranger to an injury. The defender spent 10 months on the sidelines after tearing his ACL during the 2023/24 season, and only made a full return towards the end of the season.
After an initial return in January, Botman had to undergo surgery on a knee problem, though it was nowhere near as severe as his previous injury.
However, fans have spotted the 25-year-old wearing a lot of tape around his injured knee, causing them to grow concerned that he has picked up another injury.
“Botman still looks like he’s got a limp,” said one fan on the social media platform X, while another added: “That bloke’s injury prone.”
This Newcastle fan hopes it is not bad news, saying: “Hopefully just precautions.”
“Better get a new CB in ASAP,” said this concerned Newcastle fan.
Another fan added: “Strapping around Botman’s knee, hopefully nothing serious.”
Finally, this fan said: “Botman isn’t starting until January, is he?”
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Sven Botman trained with Newcastle United amid injury concerns
Thankfully, there is nothing to worry about with Botman. While many fans noticed his strapping, it is clear that the tape is a precaution for his knee, and something he will likely wear for the majority of the 2025/26 campaign.
Fans saw something similar with Joelinton last season. During a recent interview, Joelinton opened up on his ‘difficult’ injury problems and how he had to keep his knee heavily bandaged.
It has been confirmed that Botman took part in Newcastle’s training session in Austria on Monday, and that there are no further issues with his knee.
With the friendly against Celtic on the horizon, Botman will likely be a part of the squad that travels to Glasgow for the Adidas Trophy clash.
Newcastle are also in talks to sign Hugo Ekitike, but a deal for him is unlikely to be completed until the Magpies jet off to Singapore.
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