Sven Botman posts 17-word message after mixed Newcastle United injury news

Newcastle United have been handed a big injury boost heading into the final four matches of the 2024-25 season.

Saturday’s 3-0 win against Ipswich Town at St James’ Park saw Newcastle move up to third in the Premier League table and further underline their Champions League qualification credentials. To achieve that, the Magpies must finish inside the top five.

And the race is tight. United sit third on 62 points, Manchester City are fourth on 61 points, while Chelsea and Nottingham Forest occupy fifth and sixth, respectively, on 60 points, although Forest have a game in-hand which is at home to Brentford on Thursday night.

Newcastle United handed big injury boost

Eddie Howe’s side make a long trip to Brighton & Hove Albion this Sunday and are boosted by the recent return of key defender Sven Botman.

There were fears Botman’s campaign could be over after it was decided he required surgery on a knee issue that had 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 he went under the knife. The 25-year-old was expected to be missing until the beginning of May but returned ahead of schedule.

He trained with his teammates last week and was named on the bench for the Ipswich game. As the afternoon fizzled out, Howe was able to introduce Botman for the remaining 10 minutes, marking his first appearance for 11 weeks.

Speaking after the game, Howe said: “Yeah, he is slightly ahead [of schedule] but he trained this week and trained really well. Looks excellent. He's looked after himself, he's done everything right to try and come back as quickly as possible. He is a great professional, he's also a big presence for us. We've missed him.

“It's great to be able to bring him on the pitch in a game that maybe wouldn't stress him as much as normal. So, it was a perfect reintroduction to the game.”

Botman has played just six times this campaign. He was ruled out for 10 months with an ACL injury before picking up a second knee injury in February, although the issue was in his opposite knee.

Commenting on his comeback, Botman wrote on Instagram: “Back outside again with the team and fans! BIG win yesterday— 4 finals, 1 mission. Locked in. #FinalPush”

Sven Botman returns but two players sidelined

Although Newcastle have been bolstered by Botman’s return, there is a risk they will now lose Joelinton to another spell on the sidelines.

The Brazilian has been nursing a knee injury, one that forced him to miss the whole of February. He had played the last 10 consecutive matches for club and country but the injury flared up in training on Friday.

“He's going to see a specialist,” Howe explained. “I'm sure he'll be scanned there as well. But he trained yesterday but just felt his knee wasn't 100% right. And that's the knee that he had an injury with earlier in the season.

“He's done brilliantly to play through the number of games that he has without being 100% fit. But he got to the point where he felt he needed a slight intervention. So let's keep our fingers crossed it's not serious.”

Matt Targett is another who could miss the remaining month of the campaign after he sustained a hamstring last week. The left-back struggled badly with injuries in the last two seasons having been restricted to just 11 appearances.

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