Newcastle will be without Sven Botman for the Carabao Cup final against , with the Magpies defender set go undergo knee surgery.

Botman only returned to the team in January, having spent the previous 10 months recovering from an ACL injury, but he has not played since the semi-final second-leg win over Arsenal on February 5.

The full length of Botman's next spell on the sidelines will be known in the coming days, but the reports that he will not play again this season. The apparent good news for Newcastle is that Botman's new injury is unrelated to the one he suffered last March.

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The bad news, as far as Eddie Howe is concerned, is that he will be without a key player for the remainder of the campaign as the Magpies chase qualification and Carabao Cup glory.

The Carabao Cup final is less than two weeks away, and the selection problems are mounting for Newcastle, with Botman joining Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall in being unavailable for the match.

Gordon is suspended after he mindlessly earned a red card in last weekend's FA Cup loss to Brighton, while Hall has also been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a foot injury.

Ordinarily, all three players would be among the first names on Howe's teamsheet and the Newcastle manager admitted his frustration at the absences of some key players.

"It's a big blow for us because that left side has been a constant source of creativity for us this year," Howe told Sky Sports of Hall and Gordon's unavailability. "I think both players have been outstanding. I don't quite know how to put a positive spin on it but I'll try: [it creates] opportunities for other players and we'll just have to try and find a solution but really disappointed with both players [missing the final]."

Newcastle last contested a cup final in 2023, when it also went into the match without a key player due to suspension after goalkeeper Nick Pope was sent off in a league match against Liverpool the week before the final.

"Initially I didn't think anything [to do with the Carabao Cup final after Gordon was sent off] because I was so focused on the game that I wasn't really aware of the repercussions for Anthony," Howe added. "But of course when the dust settled on the game and it quickly became apparent that he was going to miss the final, and obviously with Lewis's news, yeah, similarities [with Pope being sent off in 2023] yeah. That's the only similarity.

"Hopefully we can put the disappointment behind us and move forward as a team because we have to, I think both players would want us to do that in a really positive way. They're going to be keen to see the lads do well, so that's our challenge now: to regroup."