Sven Botman has provided a small update on his injury recovery ahead of Newcastle United’s return to Premier League action against Crystal Palace.
On Saturday at 3 p.m., Newcastle will be playing host to Palace at St. James’ Park, and Botman is hoping to be back in the mix after missing the victories over Manchester City, Burnley, and Paris Saint-Germain as well as the draw at West Ham United before the break due to a knee injury.
Since joining Newcastle for £35 million from Lille last summer, the 23-year-old center back has been an important member of the team and has only recently missed a few games due to a knee injury. The defender’s performances since his arrival have been praised as “excellent” by head coach Eddie Howe.
Nearly a month ago, in Newcastle’s 8-0 victory at Sheffield United, Botman scored his first goal for the team.
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His recovery from a knee injury is understood to be going well, with the defender taking to Instagram to post a short but encouraging message. The Dutch defender posted a picture of himself warming-up ahead of Newcastle’s Champions League match at AC Milan last month along with the caption: “Coming back stronger than ever.”
In Botman’s absence, Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles has been starting at centre-back alongside Fabian Schar. Lascelles played a key role in keeping clean sheets against Manchester City and Burnley and also played a key role in the 4-1 win over PSG.
Should Botman be passed fit for Saturday’s match, he would be expected to return to the left centre-back position with Lascelles dropping to the bench and Schar switching back to the right-hand side.
