Sven Botman will be very interested as Eddie Howe shares Newcastle United injury update

Add as preferred source on Google

Sven Botman could suddenly have a route back into the Newcastle United starting XI.

The Dutchman is back in the Newcastle United squad, having missed 12 games due to a knee injury.

But Sven Botman is fit again, appearing off the bench in the win against Ipswich Town and the draw with Brighton.

The last time Botman started for Newcastle was the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg win over Arsenal. Since then, Fabian Schar and Dan Burn have been mainstays at the back.

However, Botman is now on standby in case that changes.

Eddie Howe shares Fabian Schar update

That is because Fabian Schar limped out of Newcastle’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Sunday.

He was replaced by Botman in the 97th minute, and Eddie Howe has commented on the decision to take the 33-year-old defender off.

“I’m not 100% sure what’s happened with Fabby,” he told the Northern Echo.

“Fabby was limping. I don’t know whether that was cramp or a muscle injury, so we’ll have to check.”

Newcastle United not worried about Kieran Trippier

Schar was part of a double substitution, with Kieran Trippier also being withdrawn in the dying embers of the game.

But while Howe is unsure about Schar’s fitness, there is more clarity when it comes to the Magpies’ resident right-back.

Howe added: “I’m pretty sure that with Kieran it was just cramp.”

That is a major boost ahead of Newcastle’s next game. They welcome Chelsea to St James’ Park, in a game that will be decisive in the race for Champions League qualification.

While Newcastle could only draw with Brighton on Sunday, Chelsea were able to close the gap by beating Premier League champions Liverpool.

Those results mean that Newcastle and Chelsea are level on 63 points heading into next weekend’s game on Tyneside.

With Trippier only suffering from cramp, it looks like he will be fit to face the Blues.

Only time will tell if Schar is available, but Newcastle have a ready-made replacement in Botman if Howe is forced to make a change to his starting XI.