Newcastle United ‘not sure’ if key man will play v Man United after international week concern

Newcastle United will assess Sven Botman before deciding if the central defender is fit to play against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 4:30pm).

Botman was forced to withdraw from the Netherlands squad last Thursday after picking up a “virus infection” along with Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, plus Joey Veerman, Bart Verbruggen and Matthijs de Ligt.

It has since been revealed the players had been suffering from food poisoning. Dutch boss Ronaldo Koeman admitted the situation “shocked” him.

Koeman continued: “I went down to the hotel lobby and I saw Joey Veerman sitting there, waiting for a taxi. Sven Botman had already left. Then you get to understand the whole situation – and you have to act quickly.

“The five who have gone home have not yet been eliminated for the entire period. It’s not definitive that they will not come back. That depends on how things develop.”

Without those players, Holland lost their opening Euro 2024 qualifier to France 4-0. But ahead of Monday’s 3-0 win over Gibraltar, Gakpo, de Ligt and Verbruggen were all able to return to the camp.

Botman, however, stayed at home, and as per the Daily Telegraph, Newcastle are not sure if the 23-year-old will fully recover in time for the Premier League top four clash with Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils.

The former Ajax defender, who joined from Lille last summer for £35million, has played in 32 of United’s 34 matches in competitions this season - forming a strong centre-back partnership with Fabian Schar.

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