When it rains it really does pour at Newcastle United.
If Sunday’s FA Cup defeat to Brighton wasn’t bad enough, we lost Anthony Gordon to a three-game ban and had it confirmed on Wednesday morning that Lewis Hall has been ruled out for the season with a foot injury that requires surgery.
To make matters even worse, a grim update has now arrived on the fitness of Sven Botman, offering more bad news for Eddie Howe.
Sven Botman has become the third Newcastle United star who has been ruled out of next Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final.
In a Wednesday night exclusive for [The Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-14466497/Newcastle-injury-blow-Sven-Botman-knee-surgery.html), Craig Hope has revealed that the Dutchman is set for surgery on his knee after visiting a specialist on Tuesday.
It is NOT the same knee that underwent ACL surgery last year and it’s hoped the issue is not a serious one, but it’s enough to see him go under the knife for a second time in the space of a year.
Hope reports that it should be made clearer in the coming days just how long the 25-year-old will be out. However, it will certainly be enough to keep him out of Monday’s trip to West Ham and the cup final against Liverpool next weekend.
In the short term, losing Botman for a vital run of games in league an cup is a huge blow, but the issues run deeper than that.
We don’t yet know the full extent of his latest issue, yet it’s a real worry that he’s now had to undergo surgery on both of his knees over the past year.
The former Lille star only returned from a 10-month absence from ACL surgery in January and has sat out the past five games due to another knee problem.
Eddie Howe told the media last Friday that Botman was due to train that day and was ‘close’ to making Sunday’s game against Brighton, but “didn’t feel 100% confident in his body.” And now we know why.
Speedy recovery, Sven!