Fabian Schar is facing a race against time to be fit for next weekend’s meeting with Brentford at St James’ Park – but it looks like Sven Botman could be back to face the Bees.
The Swiss defender suffered a hamstring scare during our Summer Series draw with Chelsea back in July, forcing him to miss our final few pre-season friendlies over the summer.
He returned for our opening day win over Aston Villa and has started all four of our league games, but was visibly struggling in the final stages of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Brighton.
The 31-year-old was clearly in discomfort and was holding that same hamstring. As a result, The Chronicle report that he’s an early ‘doubt’ for next weekend’s clash with Brentford.
The good news is he has almost two weeks to recover, but it’s a concern to see that same hamstring issue flare up again. As for Sven Botman, he’s posted a positive update on his Instagram page this afternoon, saying he’ll be ‘back soon’ in a photo from the club’s training ground.
Eddie Howe confirmed a six-week setback for Joe Willock after the Brighton game and said Botman’s return date was ‘unknown’, but the Dutchman’s latest post suggest he’s on course to return next weekend.
Hopefully Schar can recover over the international break – he’s due to play for Switzerland but may well withdraw – and Botman remains on track to return after today’s promising update.
