'Difficult to accept': Sven Botman releases statement after yesterday's surgery announcement

Last night it was revealed that Sven Botman is going to go under the knife for an anterior cruciate ligament injury which could keep the defender out of action for nine months.

The Newcastle United defender has been struggling with knee issues all season and when the problem first flared up in October, Botman took the option to use rehabilitation to fix the problem rather than surgery, but now as the problem has returned, he's having to take the surgical option.

Newcastle now have to see out the rest of the season without their star centre-back, although we're been without him all season, in truth, as when he returned from his first lengthy layoff he was nowhere near his best.

The Magpies came close to selling Jamaal Lascelles in January. Rejecting the approach of Besiktas definitely seems like a good move now as the skipper will be a regular starter while Botman is out.

Sven Botman vows to come back stronger

Keith Downie released a post on X that quoted Sven Botman after the news of his surgery.

“It is difficult to accept that surgery is out of the question, after fighting so hard to avoid this step.

“The support and love I have already means a lot to me.

“I won’t be able to do what I love the most for a while, but after my knee problems recently, I know I will come out of this period a better player.

“My team Newcastle United remain the most important and I will continue to support you every day.”

Newcastle fans have so many questions now and not enough answers

There's a lot of tension amongst the fanbase following this revelation. Fingers being pointed in all directions as to who is responsible and panic over whether he will be the same player after the surgery.

One of the big questions now is how this will affect the summer transfer plans. A central defender was an imperative signing before this news, now, do we need to bring in two? Do we have to keep hold of Jamaal Lascelles for another season?

We hope Sven has a speedy recovery and comes back fitter and stronger as he has promised, but we have been around long enough to see how much ACL injuries can affect careers.