Sven Botman Newcastle United fitness update as defender ruled out v Arsenal

After almost 10 months out with an ACL injury, Botman made his return to action from the start in Newcastle’s 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Just days later, The Magpies are back in North London for a crucial Carabao Cup semi-final first leg tie at Arsenal.

With Fabian Schar suspended for the match, Howe has limited defensive options to choose from and has stated he would look to keep his starting line-up consistent when possible.

Botman went off with cramp in stoppage time at Spurs but is in contention to keep his place in the side at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night (8pm kick-off).

“He feels good,” Howe said. “Naturally a bit of fatigue at the end of the game. With Sven, yes it was a long absence but he's trained for a long, long time for this moment.

“From the Aston Villa game onwards he was cleared to play but we wanted to give him longer to try and reach his best physical levels.

“It's not like he's been rushed back. He was straight into action, he did very well and really pleased with him regardless of how he'd been training, the Premier League is different to anything and you can't really prepare for that intensity but he dealt with it very well.”

When asked about whether Botman’s minutes being managed, Howe added: “I think it's a combination of things. We'll have to speak with the player and the medical team who will give me some of the answers to what we do with him next.

“Sven is a competitor and is hugely driven for the team and himself. He wants to do really well in his career so I have no doubts what he will say but I need to speak to other people and come up with the right decision.”

Newcastle will be without Bruno Guimaraes due to suspension on Tuesday night. Jamaal Lascelles, Callum Wilson, Nick Pope and Emil Krafth have also been sidelined due to injury.

The Magpies head into the game looking for a seventh straight win in all competitions.