It may have ended in defeat, but there were a lot of positives that Eddie Howe and the Newcastle United fans can take away from today’s performance against Arsenal.
From Anthony Elanga grabbing his maiden goal for the club, to great displays from the likes of Will Osula and Sandro Tonali, it was just the display we needed to see after a week of terrible news for the club on the transfer front.
However, today’s game wasn’t without its drawbacks, mainly concerning Sven Botman, who at point looked to have gotten injured once again.
Speaking to the media after the game, here’s what Howe had to say on Botman’s current fitness after the slight scare.
Eddie Howe looks to have taken a precaution with managing Sven Botman’s minutes during pre-season, after he only managed a short cameo against Arsenal in Singapore.
Coming on at halftime, the defender played 25 minutes before being subbed off for Harrison Ashby, where it looked like he may have done some damage to his groin.
Perhaps thankfully for us, it’s not a knee-related injury for the 25-year-old, as that would be a lot more worrisome considering Botman’s recent injury history.
On the situation, Howe commented “I did not see him struggling.”
“He came off and said his groin was tight. Fingers crossed he’s okay.”
But in an update from The Mail’s Craig Hope, Botman’s injury scare may not have been as serious as first seemed.
“The defender has just walked past and there was no limp or obvious discomfort. And Dan Burn says Botman probably wouldn’t have come off had it been competitive match.”
Howe has made it clear already this pre-season with Joelinton that he wants to safely and effectively manage the minutes of his stars only just returning from injury.
With how many games we’ll be having to play next season, we can’t solely rely on Fabian Schar and Dan Burn, as good as the pair have been over the last year.
So for both Botman and fellow defender Jamaal Lascelles, Howe’s precautionary measures will hopefully have a massive boost on the squad once the season kicks off properly.
Notable by his absence from today’s squad was Lewis Hall, who many will have hoped would start to get some minutes during pre-season.
Having only recently returned to the grass after a season-ending injury back in February, Hall was a welcome sight to see included in the travelling squad for the tour of Asia.
Like Botman, Lascelles, Joelinton and Hall will be on Howe’s list of precautionary players, where he’s far too integral to our upcoming league and European exploits next season to suffer an injury being rushed back for pre-season friendlies.
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