Newcastle United defender Sven Botman is ‘ahead of schedule’ in his recovery from a knee injury.
Botman last featured on February 5 when he started the 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg win over Arsenal at St James’ Park. He played 80 minutes before being forced to come off.
An initial assessment determined the problem to be minor before four weeks later – after he missed matches against Birmingham City, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion – it was confirmed the Dutchman required surgery.
The 25-year-old was given a recovery time of six to eight weeks and it appears he is closer to the latter. Speaking ahead of the Premier League clash against Crystal Palace, assistant coach Jason Tindall provided an encouraging update.
Botman stepped up his return last week when he visited the NAS Sports Complex in Dubai. As his teammates prepare for matches against Palace and Aston Villa this week, the centre-back has been back on the grass.
Tindall said: “I’ve been really pleased with Sven Botman’s recovery, he’s ahead of schedule, he’s now back out on the grass and hopefully he’ll be back out there or back in contention very soon for us.”
Newcastle face Palace on Wednesday before visiting Aston Villa at the weekend. A week later, Ipswich Town are the visitors to St James’ Park in what is the last game in April.
United boss Eddie Howe said recently that Botman could be back in May, which begins with a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion. Games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton then complete the run-in as Howe’s side look to secure Champions League qualification.
A difficult 12 months for Sven Botman
Botman, who joined Newcastle from Lille for £35million in 2022, had only recently returned from 10 months out with an ACL injury, making five appearances before sustaining his latest knee injury, although the issue is in the opposite knee.
Reflecting on his lengthy spell out, Botman said last year: “I don’t think there’s any other injuries where you’re out for as long as that. It’s been a physical challenge but also a mental one. The first few weeks were fine after I went back home (to Amsterdam) for rehab and training. I then went to a training centre in Portugal for a few weeks and you then close yourself down from being around the team.
“From the moment I returned to Newcastle, it became really hard in terms of seeing the guys going outside for training and always having to work on your own, running by yourself on a different pitch to your teammates. You always have one eye on them, which was difficult.
“After a few weeks of rehab, you’d feel really positive about everything and then be really negative for a few weeks, struggling mentally. It was quite a tough ride but, at the end, it does make you stronger.”
