Newcastle United defender Sven Botman could be injured again.
The 25-year-old has endured another torrid season, missing 36 games in total for Newcastle United.
Sven Botman began the campaign recovering from an ACL injury, before sustaining another knee issue.
The Dutchman recently returned to fitness, and was in the starting XI for Newcastle’s win over Chelsea.
Botman played exceptionally well, but was only fit enough to stay on the pitch for 55 minutes.
After the game, Eddie Howe explained why he substituted Botman.
“He was slightly uncomfortable in the half-time break with a knee problem,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s serious. He was obviously okay to carry on but he was feeling something so, tactically, I thought it would help us to change.”
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
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Luke Edwards’ worrying injury update on Sven Botman
While the Newcastle United manager had initially hoped that Botman’s issue was nothing serious, that may not be the case.
That is according to the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, who has provided an update on Botman on X (formerly known as Twitter).
He wrote: “Huge concerns at Newcastle that Sven Botman is going to miss the rest of the season with another injury. He’s not been able to train this week and is due to have a scan to determine extent of the problem. Worrying times for #nufc with two huge games remaining.”
How Newcastle United can replace Sven Botman vs Arsenal
With Botman looking likely to be ruled out, Eddie Howe may have to change his formation against Arsenal.
The Magpies played with three centre-backs against Chelsea, but Botman’s potential absence makes that difficult.
Jamaal Lascelles could come into the side, but that is extremely unlikely. The 31-year-old has only just returned from an ACL injury, playing 45 minutes for the Under-21s against Celtic B on Tuesday.
Lascelles hopes to be on the bench against Arsenal, but it is surely too soon for him to start in the Premier League.
Therefore, Howe will probably revert to his 4-3-3 formation.
That will mean a proper right-back needs to come into the team. Hopefully it will be Kieran Trippier, but there has been no news on his fitness after he missed the win over Chelsea. If the 34-year-old is unavailable, Emil Krafth could start his first Premier League game of the season.
Howe will also need to decide who joins Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali in midfield. It is unclear whether Joelinton or Joe Willock are going to be fit to face Arsenal, with Lewis Miley currently the most likely option to start.