Newcastle United fresh injury & surgery blow confirmed as £81m trio close to return v West Ham

Newcastle United will be hoping for some positive news on the injury front after being dealt two major injury blows during the international break.

Sven Botman has been ruled out until the end of 2024 after undergoing surgery on an ACL injury picked up during Newcastle's last match against Manchester City. Lewis Miley is also facing a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a back injury while on international duty with England Under-20s.

Providing an injury update on Miley, Magpies head coach Eddie Howe said: "Lewis has come back to us with a back problem, we are seeking specialist opinion on him, we don’t know exactly what it is right now." On Botman's season-ending injury, Howe explained: "A big blow. It’s a complex story with Sven, initially he had a partial tear [earlier on this season], we saw specialist opinion and there was conflicting reports on what he should do next.

"Ultimately, medical team advised him to get surgery, but he wanted to carry on. He has then aggravated that issue. He now has a long road ahead of him, the operation went well. We hope he comes back in a better place. Now we support him and help him back." The duo will miss Newcastle's return to Premier League action against West Ham United at St James' Park this Saturday (12:30pm kick-off). But Howe claimed there is a possibility that the likes of Tino Livramento, Harvey Barnes and Kieran Trippier could return from minor injury blows that ruled them all out of the Manchester City game.

Providing a coy update, Howe said: "Yeah possibly [they could play], is what I'll say. Let's wait and see."