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Newcastle United defender Sven Botman faces another spell on the sidelines after suffering a knee setback, while the club has decided against appealing Anthony Gordon’s red card, ruling him out of the League Cup final against Liverpool on March 16.
Botman, who recently returned from a 10-month layoff due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, now requires a minor operation and will be out for approximately eight weeks.
“We’ve been trying to get him back to full fitness, and he was very close for the Brighton game,” manager Eddie Howe said on Friday. “But just the day before, in one of the last actions in training, he felt the same problem in his knee.”
His absence adds to Newcastle’s defensive woes, with Lewis Hall already ruled out for the rest of the season due to a foot injury.
Meanwhile, the Magpies will be without Gordon at Wembley after choosing not to contest his red card from last week’s defeat to Brighton. The winger was sent off in the 83rd minute for catching Jan Paul van Hecke in the face during a challenge.
“We discussed it as a club with the relevant people—lawyers, etc.—but we felt there probably wasn’t sufficient grounds to appeal,” said Howe. “There was no intention from Anthony.”
Newcastle will now prepare for Monday’s Premier League clash against West Ham before turning their attention to their Wembley showdown with Liverpool.
