Newcastle have announced a rather surprising and distressing injury to Sven Botman.

We know Botman has had a knee injury and has been playing injured for a month or more. so what are the medical staff at Newcastle doing?

We have had more injuries this season than in any season in recent memory.

Newcastle must get to the bottom of why this has been the case - with the Botman injury hopefully leaving some embarrassed people in the medical department.

Particularly those who are responsible for diagnosing injuries and selecting the initial treatment.

Here's the distressing statement issued by Newcastle today on Botman:

Sven Botman has suffered an ACL knee injury against Manchester City and will be out 6-9 months.

Newcastle United defender Sven Botman will undergo surgery next week after suffering a knee injury against Manchester City.

Following further assessment, a scan has confirmed that he sustained an injury to his ACL during Saturday's match and he is expected to return to action within six-to-nine months.

The Dutch center-back initially sustained a knee injury in September 2023 and elected for a non-surgical rehabilitation plan - a decision which saw him return to action in December.

Everyone at Newcastle United wishes Sven a full and speedy recovery.

This injury asks some big questions of the medical department on all the injuries we have had and initial decisions made on their treatment.

There should be an independent investigation of all our injuries this season.

This includes the diagnosis, initial treatment, why these initial decisions were made, what the alternatives were, and why some players like Botman and Longstaff were (are) playing while injured.

We are already damaged by injuries for next season.

And Botman's absence will not help us in the final 10 games of this season while we try to qualify for Europe.

What do you think?