- Alexander Isak launched against Brighton at FA Cup on Sunday
- Howe updated his condition before the Carabao Cup final
- Listen now: It’s all starting! Is it hard in Anthony Gordon that he misses the Carabao Cup final?
Eddie Howe confirmed that Sven Botman should undergo knee surgery and will be left out for eight weeks, but news about Alexander Isak is much more positive.
Mail Sport revealed on Wednesday that Botman needed an operation and would miss the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on March 16.
The good news for the defender is that the problem is in the opposite knee to the LCA injury that kept him out for 10 months before his return in January.
The 25 -year -old appeared five times before receiving a crash in the Carabao Cup semifinals over Arsenal a month ago. It was expected that he had already returned now, but an expert opinion advised that surgery is needed.
Botman’s loss comes at the bottom of Anthony Gordon’s red card during last weekend’s FA Cup defeat by Brighton – keeping them out of Wembley – and Lewis Hall being discarded by the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
“It hasn’t been the best of the weeks!” Howe said, before explaining Botman’s situation. ‘We are trying to recover Sven back to the full fitness and, the day before Brighton’s game, he felt the same knee problem. This week he felt discomfort. He came from a beat. He didn’t feel it was a big problem. It just needs a small operation to clean some fluid and then be fine again.
Sven Botman will miss the Carabao Cup final after being discarded for eight weeks due to injury
Alexander Isak left tired on Sunday, but managed to train normally this week
Eddie Howe is ready to have her talisman attacker available for the Wembley display piece
Eight weeks are a kind of timeline, which should take time to get into games before the end of the season. Whenever you have a really smaller operation, there is always a slight unknown.
Isak was removed in the second half of Brighton’s 2-1 defeat, leading fears that the 22-goal singer could also be a question for Monday’s trip to West Ham and the final.
But Howe said, ‘Alex is fine. Sunday, when he left, he was feeling a little tired at the end of the game, a little tightening on his body. He trained every day and it’s good.
Is it in shape enough to start at West Ham?
“The fingers crossed, yes,” said Howe. “As I said, if he is fit, he will play, because this is the best way to put it in the best physical condition for future games.
Football players are finally tuned athletes and when they are ready to play, they need to play. You have to give them this opportunity. Alex crossed fingers will be fine. I understand the intense type of speculation and highlight about it, but the best thing we can do is just relax and let it play your football.
