Newcastle United handed Sven Botman injury boost for Champions League push

Botman had surgery on his knee last month and has missed the Newcastle’s last 10 games since going off in the closing stages of the 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at St James’ Park.

What was initially thought to be a minor knee issue for the defender ended up causing him prolonged discomfort, so much so that he had surgery on his knee that would rule him out from six to eight weeks.

The surgery took place almost five weeks ago with Botman well on the road to recovery.

Sven Botman steps up his recovery from knee injury

In recent weeks, Botman has been over in Dubai at the NAS Training Complex to step up his recovery. Newcastle have previously used the same complex during their warm-weather training camps in Dubai during the March international break.

Botman is back on the grass and set to continue his recovery back on Tyneside with a view to returning to action before the end of the season. Newcastle currently sit fourth in the Premier League table with seven games left to play.

A result against Crystal Palace in their game in hand match would see Newcastle move ahead of Nottingham Forest and into third in the Premier League table. The Magpies have already confirmed European football with their Carabao Cup win securing Conference League qualification but the club have higher ambitions and are looking to return to the Champions League.

Newcastle qualified for the Champions League in Botman’s first season at the club, finishing fourth with the joint-best defensive record in the league. They missed out on Europe last season after finishing seventh though Botman missed the majority of the campaign due to two separate ACL injuries - the second of which ruled him out until January 2025.

He then suffered a fresh knee injury a month later.

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Sven Botman Newcastle United surgery

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said earlier this month: “He's had an operation, a very minor operation, just to clean out a bit of floating bone that was in his knee that was causing him the problem.

“I think the initial diagnosis was between six to eight weeks. But I think he's already got through two or three of those.

“So he's on the road, he's feeling good. Fingers crossed we'll see him probably in May sometime.”

Newcastle United injuries

With Botman closing in on a return, one player who won’t be back this season is left-back Lewis Hall. The defender had foot surgery at around the same time as Botman but was given around a four month recovery period.

Hall is expected to be back in action for Newcastle in pre-season ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Jamaal Lascelles is also pushing to return to action before the end of the season though there are no guarantees after more than 12 months out with an ACL injury.

Joe Willock has missed the last two Newcastle matches with a concussion but is set to be back available this week after protocols were followed.

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