Eddie Howe provides Sandro Tonali, Sven Botman injury update for Brentford clash
Tonali was forced to miss Italy's Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine earlier this week due to a minor complaint regarding a thigh strain.
Botman, meanwhile, was not involved in the loss at Brighton & Hove Albion two weeks ago after sustaining an ankle injury against Manchester City in mid-August, and he was also unavailable to represent the Netherlands during the international break.
Both players have emerged as doubts heading into Saturday's encounter with Brentford, but Howe has sat down with the media to provide a reassuring update on the pair.
Asked at press conference on Friday about Tonali's condition, Howe said: «I think he felt his thigh in training, so he's come back in and he's had a scan.
»There's a slight injury there – It's nothing serious or too long – but we'll wait and see whether he's available this weekend."
Discussing whether Botman could return this weekend, the Magpies boss added: «Possibly, yeah. He's trained this week, so fingers crossed for Sven – we'll see how he feels today.»
While Botman has established himself as a first-team regular at Newcastle since joining the club last summer, Tonali has seamlessly slotted into Howe's side after joining from AC Milan in July, starting in all four Premier League games and scoring on his debut in the 5-1 win over Aston Villa last month.
Like Tonali, fellow midfielder Elliot Anderson was another Newcastle player who picked up an injury during the international break and was forced to pull out of the Scotland squad.
However, when asked if Anderson – who is believed to be
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