Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has revealed that he hopes to have both Sandro Tonali and Sven Botman available for Saturday's Premier League clash with Brentford at St James' Park.
Tonali was forced to miss Italy's Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine earlier this week due to a minor complaint regarding a thigh strain.
Botman, meanwhile, was not involved in the loss at Brighton & Hove Albion two weeks ago after sustaining an ankle injury against Manchester City in mid-August, and he was also unavailable to represent the Netherlands during the international break.
Both players have emerged as doubts heading into Saturday's encounter with Brentford, but Howe has sat down with the media to provide a reassuring update on the pair.
Asked at press conference on Friday about Tonali's condition, Howe said: "I think he felt his thigh in training, so he's come back in and he's had a scan.
© Reuters
"There's a slight injury there – It's nothing serious or too long – but we'll wait and see whether he's available this weekend."
Discussing whether Botman could return this weekend, the Magpies boss added: "Possibly, yeah. He's trained this week, so fingers crossed for Sven – we'll see how he feels today."
While Botman has established himself as a first-team regular at Newcastle since joining the club last summer, Tonali has seamlessly slotted into Howe's side after joining from AC Milan in July, starting in all four Premier League games and scoring on his debut in the 5-1 win over Aston Villa last month.
Like Tonali, fellow midfielder Elliot Anderson was another Newcastle player who picked up an injury during the international break and was forced to pull out of the Scotland squad.
However, when asked if Anderson – who is believed to be weighing up whether to represent either Scotland or England at international level – could feature against Brentford, Howe simply replied: "We hope so."
© Reuters
One Newcastle player who remains in the treatment room is midfielder Joe Willock, who is yet to play this season due to an Achilles injury sustained in May.
There is currently no timeframe on Willock's return, but Howe has confirmed that the 24-year-old is working towards a comeback, adding: "He's been away – he's been in Spain I believe the last week, a change of environment for him, a change of focus for him.
"He's been pretty good. There's obviously been a bit of disappointment there, because he's had a couple of setbacks.
"This injury's an Achilles injury, the one he sustained originally was a hamstring injury, and the Achilles came out of nowhere.
"Disappointment for him – and he's such a key player for us, so disappointment for us. But our aim is just to get him back as quickly as possible and back to his best form."
Newcastle defenders Emil Krafth (ACL) and Javier Manquillo (groin) are also ruled out through injury for Saturday's match with Brentford, with Howe's side seeking to climb into the top half of the Premier League table after losing three of their opening four matches this season.
No Data Analysis info
