Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has stated that Sven Botman will play against Brentford this Saturday, although Sandro Tonali is injured.
The Dutch defender missed the 3-1 loss to Brighton before the international break due to an ankle injury suffered the week before against Liverpool.
The international matches allowed him to recover and return to training, but the two-week hiatus took its toll on the rest of the group, with Tonali sustaining a thigh strain while representing Italy. The problem could also jeopardize his return to the San Siro, as the Magpies face his former club AC Milan on Tuesday.
However, it is believed that Elliot Anderson will be fit to participate after withdrawing from the Scotland team.
“He has trained this week, so fingers crossed for Sven, we’ll see how he feels today,” Howe stated in his pre-match press conference when questioned about injuries.
“During training, Sandro felt his thigh. He’s returned and had a scan. There is a minor injury there. It’s nothing serious or lengthy, but we’ll see if he’s available this weekend.
“We hope Elliot will be fine.”
Howe believes the international break came at a bad time for his team since they were unable to swiftly recover from their loss to Brighton. He has challenged his players to get back to their best form following three straight losses.
“My preference will always be to play again after a disappointing result, but it wasn’t to be,” Howe explained. “We returned here and worked well with the players we had left behind.”
“It’s a game we want to win, and we know and understand what we’re up against.” But I don’t want to make it any bigger than it is.
“This is a game that we must approach correctly.” It’s a tough game against a formidable opponent.
“For us, we must return to our highest level of performance, and if we do, I will support us in completing the task.”
Preparing for Brentford has not been the only work on Howe and sporting director Dan Ashworth’s agenda this week, as they aim to sign important squad members to longer-term contracts.
Although negotiations with Bruno Guimares are ongoing, Callum Wilson has agreed to a one-year extension that will take his contract until 2025.
“We’re very pleased because Callum has been an integral part of our success,” Howe added. “He’s an outstanding person and an outstanding footballer, and I’m delighted he’ll be with us for a longer period of time.”
“He’s a highly motivated individual, and I’ve never seen Callum not motivated to score goals.” That’s fantastic for a striker, in my opinion.
“He’s always there in training and games, wanting to score goals, and I’m sure that will push him to achieve even more with Newcastle United at a very exciting time for the club.”
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