Eddie Howe says Sven Botman has been ready for action for a while before making his return on Saturday

Eddie Howe has faced the media ahead of Tuesday night's massive game as Newcastle United take on Arsenal at the Emirates in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Naturally, one of the big questions of the morning was how Sven Botman is feeling after playing over 90 minutes on his first game back after a nine-month absence.

Botman had a nightmare start getting caught on the wrong side of Dominic Solanke for Tottenham's goal, but he soon found his feet in the game and did make a very important block at one point.

However, three minutes into stoppage time, the Dutchman had to be substituted as he went off holding his calf. It was believed that it was just cramp and that would definitely seem to be the case now.

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Eddie Howe reveals that Sven Botman was passed fit weeks ago

Eddie Howe was asked (via The Chronicle) how Botman is doing after his return and it sounded very positive, although he's not yet made a call about whether he's ready to start him again tomorrow night.

"He feels good. Naturally a little bit of fatigue at the end of the game. It was a long absence but he's trained for a long, long time for this moment. From the Aston Villa game onwards he has been cleared to play but we wanted to give him longer to try and reach his best physical levels.

"Straight into action, did very well, really pleased with him.

"[On whether he's on a phased return] It's a combination, we have to speak to the player, the medical team, the experts. They'll give me some of the answers to what we do with him next. But he's a competitor. He is hugely driven for the team and himself. So I've no doubts what he will say but, as I say, we need to speak to other people and make the right decision."

Knowing that Sven Botman has been ready for weeks gives us more confidence

The decision to play Botman from the start against Tottenham makes more sense now knowing that he was passed fit weeks ago and it wasn't just a case of throwing him in.

That gives us more confidence that he could be ready to go again on Tuesday night and probably rested when we face Bromley at the weekend with Fabian Schar back from suspension.

Tomorrow night will be a massive test for Botman, and indeed the rest of the side, so we'll definitely be hoping he makes the cut because we need our best players on the pitch.