Newcastle United star ‘confirms’ return v Brentford after ‘we’ll see how he feels’ claim

Newcastle United defender Sven Botman has seemingly confirmed his involvement against Brentford at St James’ Park this evening (5:30pm kick-off).

Botman missed the Magpies’ 3-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion last time out with an ankle injury picked up against Liverpool six days earlier. But having resumed training over the international break, the Dutchman is in line to return to the starting XI for the visit of the Bees.

The 23-year-old has teased his return on Instagram by sharing a matchday graphic. For context, he didn’t do that against Brighton.

When asked during his pre-match press conference if Botman could feature against the Bees, Magpies head coach Eddie Howe said: “Possibly, he’s trained this week. Fingers crossed for Sven, we’ll see how he feels [in training on Friday].”

One player who is a doubt for this evening’s clash is £52million summer signing Sandro Tonali. The midfielder missed Italy’s 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifier win over Ukraine due to a thigh injury.

“He felt his thigh in training,” Howe explained. “So he has come back in and he’s had a scan, there’s a slight injury there so we don’t think it’s serious or too long but we’ll wait and see if he’s available this weekend.”

Newcastle are hoping to return to winning ways after losing their last three Premier League fixtures against Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton.