Eddie Howe has confirmed that Sven Botman intends to undergo a knee operation and will be put aside for eight weeks, but the news about Alexander Isak is much more positive.
Mail Sport revealed on Wednesday that Botman needed surgery and would miss the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on March 16.
The good news for the defender is that the problem is in the opposite knee for the ACL injury that kept him outside for 10 months before his comeback in January.
The 25-year-old appeared five times before he took a blow in the 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final victory over Arsenal a month ago. It was hoped that he would have returned now, but has advised a specialized opinion that surgery is necessary.
The loss of Botman comes on the back of the red card of Anthony Gordon during the FA Cup defeat last weekend by Brighton – keeping him out of Wembley – and Lewis Hall is excluded for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
“It's not the best weeks!” said Howe, before he explained Botman's situation. 'We tried to bring Sven back to full fitness, and the day before the Brighton game he felt the same problem in his knee. This week he felt discomfort. It came from a knock. He didn't feel it was a big problem. He just needs a small operation to clean up some liquid and then it will be fine again.
'Eight weeks is a kind of timeline, so that should give him time to get competitions before the end of the season. When you have a really small operation, there is always a slightly unknown. '
Isak was withdrawn into the second half of the 2-1 defeat by Brighton, which led to fears that the front man of 22 goals could also be doubts about the journey from Monday to West Ham and the final.
But Howe said: 'Alex is fine. Sunday, when he came, he felt a bit tired by the end of the game, some tightness in his body. He trained every day and he is good. '
Is he fit enough to start with West Ham?
“Fingers crossed, yes,” said Howe. 'As I said, if he is fit, he will play, because that is the best way to get him in the best physical condition for future games.
'Footballers are nice coordinated athletes and when they are ready to play, they have to play. You have to give them that chance. Fingers crossed Alex will be fine. I understand the intense type of speculation and the spotlight on him, but the best we can do is just relax and let him play his football. '
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