'I was really down' - Newcastle United boss makes Sven Botman injury admission after triple blow
Sven Botman has made a triumphant return to the Newcastle United starting line-up so far this season after a tough spell with injuries.
Sven Botman is getting back to his best at Newcastle United having started the last five matches in all competitions.
Any doubts over Botman’s ability to cope with The Magpies’ busy fixture schedule after various injury problems have been quelled, with the defender starting five games in the space of two weeks.
The 25-year-old has also formed an effective partnership with new centre-back signing Malick Thiaw, who arrived from AC Milan in the summer for £35million.
Newcastle have kept three clean sheets in the five games the pair have started together and have received plenty of praise as a result.
Despite their impressive form at club level, both Botman and Thiaw were snubbed by their respective national teams during the October international break. Botman has been part of Netherlands squads previously but is yet to earn a senior cap for his country.
Thiaw has been capped three times by Germany but hasn’t featured for the national side since 2023.
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Sven Botman injury issues
Botman enjoyed a fantastic debut season at Newcastle after joining from Lille in 2022. The defender formed part of the strongest defence in the Premier League in the 2022/23 campaign as Newcastle claimed a fourth place finish.
The Dutch centre-back featured in all but two of Newcastle’s league games that season but the following season his impact was blighted due to injury.
Botman suffered two separate ACL injuries during the season, which limited him to 22 appearances in all competitions. His second ACL injury also had a knock-on impact last season as he was ruled out until the turn of the year.
After getting back to fitness and playing for Newcastle, Botman then suffered a third knee injury that ruled him out for almost three months.
But after returning to the side at the back end of the 2024/25 season and having a full pre-season under his belt, Botman is getting back to optimal fitness and the levels he displayed during his debut season on Tyneside.
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Sven Botman irreplaceable at NUFC?
When asked about Botman returning to full fitness, almost being like a new signing for Newcastle this season, head coach Eddie Howe admitted it was a big boost to his side.
“I think it’s a very good question, and probably one that isn’t highlighted enough because when we lost him [to injury], I was really down about that,” Howe said. “Because we’d lost an outstanding player, character, person, but distributor of the ball — short and long range.
“He brought the other side of the pitch into play a lot when we were under pressure, and we lost that from our game. That was a huge blow.
“Not only that, he’s a man-mountain. He’s a physical beast, which in this league you need.
“I thought we coped really well with his absence. I thought Dan Burn in particular was absolutely magnificent. But Sven’s got qualities that Dan doesn’t have and vice versa. They’re both very different players.