Eddie Howe was back in the hot seat this morning at the club’s media base, speaking all things Newcastle United ahead of our vital home clash with Ipswich tomorrow.
After discussing his health following a two-week battle with pneumonia, the boss offered an update on the injury front and shared some encouraging news on that front.
A key man is back in training ahead of schedule and first-team regular who limped off last weekend should be OK. Here is the latest:
We may not see Lewis Hall again this season, but it sounds like Sven Botman is making superb progress, while Fabian Schar is likely to be fine for Saturday’s game.
Botman was pencilled in for early May after surgery on his knee in late March. However, Howe has revealed today that he’s ‘trained well’ this week and has taken a “really big step’ towards returning to the squad.
Schar had a hamstring issue in the closing stages of our 4-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, but the boss is hopeful the Swiss centre-back will be fine.
Howe said: “Sven has trained well this week, great to see him back with the group and on the grass. A really big step for him. Fabian, we hope will be okay.”
The team has often picked itself in recent weeks, with our run of wins only coming to an end in last Saturday’s 4-1 bashing at Villa Park.
Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy have been in-form, but Anthony Gordon will be pushing for a return to the side after suspension and injury on international duty limiting him to very few starts over the last two months.
Dropping Barnes at the first opportunity would seem harsh and there is no stopping Murphy, who has 22 goal involvements in all competitions.
With that in mind, I think Gordon may be made to wait, especially as he’s struggled to make a major impact in recent cameo appearances from the bench.
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