Suspension for Schar causes issues

EDDIE Howe admits Newcastle United must deal with an immediate issue after Fabian Schar’s suspension, which means the Magpies kick off 2025 with a defensive headache.

Schar now serves a two-match ban after Howe confirmed he will miss the trip to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend and the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal. The ban for Schar has been compounded by an illness for Sven Botman which has slowed down his comeback from injury.

Howe, speaking at his post-game press conference, said the Schar booking was frustrating. He said: “Yeah and the coincidence is he is now going to miss two games, the Carabao Cup game as well so it is a big blow for us and for him.

“We are going to have to change our back lines which has been so stable for us in the middle of the pitch and the fact that he and Dan Burn have built up a really good partnership is a shame. But that will give an opportunity to somebody else and hopefully the team won’t be adversely affected.”

Botman’s return would have made for a straight switch but Howe was not certain it will be that simple. When asked about the Dutchman he said: “Sven is getting there yeah. He has had a period of training which we knew he needed.

“He has had a little bit of illness in the last few days but he will get over that pretty quickly. And we have depth that can cover any absentees in the squad so hopefully that is the case with Sven.”

However, the absentees could not take the gloss of what was a fantastic night for Howe and his players. Reflecting on the game, he said: “I don’t know about the win being a statement but for us we knew that we have to try to keep building on the momentum that we had built in recent weeks. We have had a really good look about us, a strong, confident team and I am happy we were able to continue that at a ground that hasn’t been kind to Newcastle over the years. It is a big win psychologically.

“I think we know the hurt this fixture has had for us historically. It wasn’t lost on us. We didn’t necessarily use that with the players, but psychologically, that was a big step forward for us today. I think we need to win games like this to achieve what we want on a regular basis.”