Doubt cast over £35m Newcastle United star ahead of Premier League clash vs Ipswich Town

Sven Botman has trained with his Newcastle United teammates ahead of the Premier League clash against Ipswich Town on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

There were fears Botman’s season could be over after it was decided he required surgery on a knee issue that has kept him sidelined since the 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second leg win over Arsenal on February 5.

An initial assessment determined the Dutchman’s injury to be minor but around a month later went under the knife. Eight weeks on and Botman, who has made 71 appearances for the Magpies since joining from Lille for £35million in the summer of 2022, has resumed training at Benton this week.

Sven Botman & Fabian Schar injury update

Newcastle assistant coach Jason Tindall said last week that Botman is “ahead of schedule” and could be involved in the matchday squad against Ipswich. However, while Eddie Howe also provided a positive update, the Magpies’ head coach said “it’s still very early stages” for the defender, which casts doubt over a potential return this weekend.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Howe said: “Sven's trained well this week and it's been great to see him back on the grass. So, yeah, really, really pleased with how he looked. It's still very early stages for him, but back training with the group, big step.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle hope Fabian Schar will be fine to feature. The former Switzerland international was withdrawn in the closing stages of the 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa last Saturday with a hamstring complaint.

The 33-year-old has missed just four Premier League games this campaign, though three of those have been through suspension. United are already without two defenders in Jamaal Lascelles and Lewis Hall for the rest of the campaign.

Eddie Howe set to return to the St James’ Park dugout

The visit of Ipswich is set to see Howe return to the dugout for the first time since the 3-0 win at Leicester City on Monday, April 7.

Howe had been feeling unwell and was admitted to hospital 48 hours before the Magpies’ 4-1 victory over Manchester United. It was later confirmed that the 47-year-old had been diagnosed with pneumonia, forcing him to miss further matches against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa whilst he recovered.

Although Howe says he isn’t yet feeling 100%, he has decided to return to work ahead of the Ipswich game, where a win will take his side up to third in the Premier League table with four games left to play.

“I'm okay. I'm not 100%. I'm not 100% in my body, but I'd like to think I'm very close to 100% in my mind, which is the most important thing,” said Howe.

“I try to take a positive from every experience, I think that's really important you try to do that but this has been a real challenge because your health you take for granted. I certainly have. And then when you don't have the luxury of feeling normal, it can be very difficult. So, yeah, certainly been through a range of emotions. But thankfully, I feel like I'm on the road to recovery, which is the most important thing. And yeah, I'm delighted to be here.”