Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has confirmed that central defender Sven Botman is a doubt for the upcoming Carabao Cup clash with Tottenham Hotspur after sustaining a nasty cut to his head over the weekend.
While Howe provided positive news regarding the absence of a concussion, the immediate doubt over Botman’s involvement highlights the constant monitoring required for the Dutch defender following his major knee surgery.
Botman had been a vital figure in the team’s resurgence, but this latest knock comes as the club attempts to integrate him back to full match sharpness following a long layoff.
Immediate doubt after Saturday’s clash
The centre-back was forced off after a collision, requiring stitches, though scans thankfully showed no damage to his knee structure.
Howe gave an update on the defender’s status ahead of the midweek cup tie.
“Sven has no concussion; it was a cut, a bad cut, which he had stapled together,” Howe revealed.
“He didn’t train yesterday but we will see how he is today.”
Given the immediate need to rest the defender after a physical blow, the manager suggested that Wednesday’s cup tie would likely come too soon, with the match against Manchester City on November 22nd perhaps being a more realistic marker for his return to the starting XI.
Long-term focus remains on ACL recovery
While the immediate concern is an easily fixable cut, the larger context is Sven Botman’s protracted recovery from the ACL injury he suffered back in March 2024.
That initial setback ruled him out for up to nine months, and the process of bringing him back to elite Test match fitness has been gradual.
Howe has publicly expressed his admiration for Botman’s professionalism during the recovery, noting that when the defender is at his “very highest levels,” there are “not many I’d look to swap him with.”
The club’s cautious approach, which saw him only return via an England Lions match late last year, remains the priority to ensure the injury does not recur.
The club is invested in his long-term future, demonstrated by the recent contract structure changes.
