In recent weeks, Eddie Howe’s list of injured players at Newcastle United has significantly grown, with the latest addition being Sven Botman. The Dutch defender, who has been sidelined since the end of September due to a knee problem, was expected to make progress in his recovery this week. However, Eddie Howe has revealed that there is an unspecified “issue” that will keep Botman out indefinitely. Alexander Isak is also unavailable until after the international break, and Newcastle has several other long-term absentees, including Jacob Murphy (dislocated shoulder), Harvey Barnes (foot), Elliott Anderson (back), Lewis Miley (illness), and Javier Manquillo (groin problem).
Additionally, midfielder Sandro Tonali has been hit with a 10-month ban for violating betting rules, and he was seen walking his dog while his teammates trained. Newcastle is planning how to manage his absence. Tonali, who joined the club from AC Milan in a £54 million summer transfer, is set to be sidelined for an extended period.
Eddie Howe acknowledged the challenges the team is facing, emphasizing that football can change rapidly due to injuries and other factors. He stated, “You can have a game where you lose one or two players, and suddenly the outlook and dynamics of the squad change. But you just have to adapt to the situation, endure the setbacks, and that’s what we’re aiming to do. It’s not an ideal situation for us, especially compared to last year when we had a different scenario with more frequent games. Now, we need every player in the squad to step up, and the key message is that everyone needs to give more.”
Regarding Sven Botman’s injury, Howe mentioned, “There’s an issue there, and we’re exploring various options to diagnose the problem. Is it a long-term situation now? It seems that way, but we’re still waiting for more information to clarify his situation.”
The absence of Alexander Isak has also posed a challenge for Newcastle, potentially requiring Anthony Gordon to play as a No. 9 due to a lack of first-team strikers. Howe explained, “That’s one of the reasons we signed Anthony, who has experience as a center-forward. There are other options, such as Harvey Barnes, although he’s currently unavailable. Joelinton was also signed as a center-forward, but we’ve adjusted his position. The difficulty lies in the fact that signing a third striker wasn’t feasible due to limited resources. We made decisions based on the information available at the time.”
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