Eddie Howe has given the trio of Kieran Trippier, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento a chance of playing in Newcastle’s clash with West Ham on Saturday, although it is bad news for Sven Botman who is set to be out for months.
The Dutch defender has had knee surgery and will miss the rest of the season and even some of the next season, the issue is very serious.
Botman was told to have an operation earlier in the season but chose to try and play on, which ultimately made the situation worse.
‘It’s a big blow,’ Howe explained. ‘It’s a complicated situation with Sven. At first, he had a partial tear. We got expert opinions and there were different opinions on what he should do next.
‘Ultimately, our medical team recommended surgery, but he wanted to continue. He then worsened the problem.
‘He now faces a long recovery, but the operation was successful so we hope he comes back in a better condition. Now we’ll support him and help him recover.
‘You can’t force a player to have an operation, regardless of internal opinions. Sven was very certain about what he wanted to do.’
In addition to Botman, Newcastle are still without Nick Pope, Joelinton, Callum Wilson, and Lewis Miley due to injury, and Sandro Tonali due to his betting ban.
However, Kieran Trippier, Barnes, and Livramento may all play at St James’ Park on Saturday when West Ham visit.
Howe was not fully committed on this, saying: ‘Maybe, we’ll have to wait and see.’
Trippier’s calf injury has kept him out since the win over Wolves on 2nd March, and he was unable to play during the recent international break for England, but a return is now near.
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