Newcastle United boost ahead of Chelsea clash as 'transformative signing' claim made
Eddie Howe hopes Sven Botman is over his injury troubles and can rediscover the form that made him a “transformative signing” for Newcastle United.
The Dutchman joined from Lille for £35million in the summer of 2023 and in his debut campaign made 44 appearances, helping Newcastle record the best defensive record in the Premier League on their way to qualifying for the Champions League.
However, in the last two seasons, three separate knee injuries have restricted Botman to 29 appearances.
The 25-year-old had only just returned from 10 months out with an ACL injury when he required surgery on another issue in March. It was feared he could miss the rest of the campaign but he has managed to return to the fold ahead of the Magpies’ run-in.
Eddie Howe reflects on Sven Botman’s injury hell
Reflecting on Botman’s injury hell, Howe said: “Really difficult. Having spent a lot of time with Sven in recent seasons, the last couple of seasons, had some difficult conversations where he's felt low, he's been frustrated, that's really difficult.
“I suffered a lot with injuries as a player, so I know exactly how all the players feel when they have a long-term injury, and then on the rare occasions these days when there are complications with an injury, how that frustration manifests itself with the player.
“It can be hugely negative, it can lead to a lot of internal mental struggles – I'm not talking about Sven here, I'm talking generally – and loneliness, really, because you're excluded from the group That isolation is never good. I think Sven has handled it really well.
“Just when he'd done all that work and come back to full fitness, he then just picked up another smaller problem, but we hope now that he's through the worst of those problems and we can return to seeing him on the pitch.
“He's an outstanding player. We've missed him massively and of course he's a huge presence that all the other lads look to as well. He's got a lot of respect within the group.
“And I just think technically we've missed him, he's such a good ball-striker, he brings a lot of the opposite players on to the pitch with his big switches of play, which is his forte, really, so he's got a lot of strengths that we've missed.”
Eddie Howe on ‘transformative’ Sven Botman
Botman has come on as a substitute in his last two matches and could be on standby to start versus Chelsea on Sunday after Howe revealed he was unsure if Fabian Schar had cramp or a muscle injury when he withdrew at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Howe added: “For me, he was a transformative signing. He had a real effect on our backline the season that we qualified for the Champions League, our defensive record was excellent. The back four was very consistent and he was a big part of that, so we've missed him.
“Dan and Fabi have been outstanding, they've been magnificent for us in his absence, I can't praise those two players enough. But Sven has got qualities that we love."