Surprise Sven Botman news arrives on Thursday morning

A hugely promising update has arrived on Sven Botman this morning, suggesting the ankle injury suffered in Sunday's defeat to Liverpool isn't as serious as many first feared.

According to Mark Douglas at iNews, the centre-back may even be fit for Saturday's trip to Brighton. He reports that 'there's a measure of confidence' Botman will be available for this weekend's game.

This would be a huge boost for Eddie Howe and a major relief for all on Tyneside, as the Dutchman had to be helped off the pitch on Sunday and looked in some discomfort.

He wasn't pictured in any of yesterday's training pictures, but the fact he has a chance of featuring at the Amex suggests he'll almost certainly be fine for our first game after the international break; a meeting with Brentford two weeks on Sunday.

With this update in mind, it seems likely that Newcastle do not dip into the loan market to sign a centre-back over the final 48 hours of the window, as it seems our stance would've only changed had Botman suffered a bad one.

Hopefully the big man can pass a late fitness test and help us get back to winning ways on Saturday night.