Eddie Howe was full of adulation for Sven Botman after the Dutchman returned to the Newcastle United squad ahead of schedule.
The 25-year-old has suffered a frustrating couple of seasons, with two separate knee injuries requiring surgery, but the former Lille star has returned ahead of schedule at a crucial stage of our season.
Substitute appearances against Ipswich and Brighton have come and gone in Botman’s first run-outs since the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, and Howe hasn’t held back when discussing the significance of his comeback.
Botman has made only 29 appearances in the last two seasons, but it sounds like he’s already pushing for a start after cameo appearances in our last two games.
His return may have come at the perfect time with Fabian Schar limping off in Sunday’s clash with the Seagulls, though it remains to be seen if that’s an injury or muscle cramp for the 33-year-old.
As Howe considers whether to bring Botman back into his starting XI over the final three games of the season, the boss has revealed just how much we’ve missed the big man’s “huge presence” on the pitch:
“He’s an outstanding player. We’ve missed him massively and of course he’s a huge presence that all the other lads look to as well. He’s got a lot of respect within the group.
“And I just think technically we’ve missed him, he’s such a good ball-striker, he brings a lot of the opposite players on to the pitch with his big switches of play, which is his forte, really, so he’s got a lot of strengths that we’ve missed.
“For me, he was a transformative signing. He had a real effect on our backline the season that we qualified for the Champions League, our defensive record was excellent. The back four was very consistent and he was a big part of that, so we’ve missed him.
“Dan and Fabi have been outstanding, they’ve been magnificent for us in his absence, I can’t praise those two players enough. But Sven has got qualities that we love.”
Howe has also discussed Botman’s recent battles with injury, admitting he and the centre-back have had “some difficult conversations” during his time on the sidelines.
“Really difficult. Having spent a lot of time with Sven in recent seasons, the last couple of seasons, had some difficult conversations where he’s felt low, he’s been frustrated, that’s really difficult.
“I suffered a lot with injuries as a player, so I know exactly how all the players feel when they have a long-term injury, and then on the rare occasions these days when there are complications with an injury, how that frustration manifests itself with the player.
“It can be hugely negative, it can lead to a lot of internal mental struggles – I’m not talking about Sven here, I’m talking generally – and loneliness, really, because you’re excluded from the group. That isolation is never good. I think Sven has handled it really well.
“Just when he’d done all that work and come back to full fitness, he then just picked up another smaller problem, but we hope now that he’s through the worst of those problems and we can return to seeing him on the pitch.”
Next season feels huge for the Dutchman, who will hope for an injury-free campaign on our return to Europe but also a year that sees him push back towards the Netherlands squad.
Fingers crossed Botman can stay fit and get back to his best after looking like one of the league’s top centre-backs prior to his recent knee issues.