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Sven Botman made his Newcastle United return in the 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur, with Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak the matchwinners for the Magpies.
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It's been a while. He's been missed. But finally, he's back.
It's been a long time, far too long, since Newcastle United fans have been able to rightfully claim Sven Botman in the middle, but in 89 minutes in North London, the former Ajax and Lille defender reminded everyone just what they've been missing.
It wasn't a perfect performance, far from it, how could it be, given the player has missed 10 months of football with a knee issue? It was, however, a show laced with silky ghosts of old, shadows of what the player can add to the United setup before joint troubles limited his on-field abilities.
Here's a look over his return at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after 295 days on the sidelines.
Nervy opening - to be expected?
This wasn’t meant to be how it goes... Well, to a point, anyway.
Botman was expected to be back in the Newcastle United squad for the trip to Manchester United last Monday, but an illness put an end to those hopes.
Six weeks of recovery, with three practice matches, only one of which was played out in public, was enough to convince the Magpies’ much more robust injury management team that this time, he was good to go.
And it’s fair to say, bar the odd concerning moment - he took his fair share of knocks in the encounter - he came through unscathed.
Again, though, it didn’t quite open how he’d imagined all those lonely days in injury isolation - as it started with lapse in concentration, which saw Spurs take the lead.
Starting in his slightly less natural position of right centre-back, Botman had read one cross from the right well, cutting out at source, then one from the left, saw him caught out.
Just four minutes in, Pedro Porro’s beautifully directed bullet landed directly on the head of Dominic Solanke, who guided past the helpless Martin Dubravka for 1-0. In a split second, Botman had been wrong-sided by the darting run of Solanke, and ended up in front of his man, reaching to get on the end of it, towered over by the triumphant England frontman.
It was a mistake he was not to make again in the encounter.
The rough and the smooth
Botman didn’t seem to dwell on the error and was soon in action again, with Solanke again the threat.
With Spurs creating openings in the first 20 minutes, even after Gordon has equalised, Botman had to be at his very best to deny the striker a second, flinging his body in the way to deny what looked a certain goal. It was a block that reminded everyone of the Duthman’s presence and physicality.
On 24 minutes, he showed the other side to his game, taking the ball under pressure on the right before skipping around two Spurs players before being fouled. Another reminder of the player’s ability to read it, and be cool, calm and composed in tight areas.
With the ball, he also showed his prowess by pinging a 70 yard pass over the top to Jacob Murphy. It didn’t come to anything, but with no Fabian Schar in the team, Newcastle lacked that defence splitting pass from the back, Botman stepped into that role seamlessly, just like times of old.
James Maddison caused him a few problems, and the physical battle with Solanke was a joy to watch, but overall, bar a shaky opening 20, things went smoothly for Botman on return.
Concerning exit? And the knocks along the way
As a defender, you’re brought up in the school of hard knocks - and Botman is no different. A big lad, he’s not known for mixing it up with players, more likely to read their next move, often before they’ve even made it.
He did, in this one, have a tussle or two. One challenge from Pape Matar Sarr left him feeling his knee, cue some panicked faces, particularly around me in the press box, but it was just a contact injury.
And one challenge with the opposition keeper saw him arch and hurt his back, but after a grimace, he was good to go.
Botman did leave the field late on, and many worried a new injury was the issue, but no, it was calf cramp, with Eddie Howe confirming after the game, the medical staff did not know how many minutes the player could last before cramping up. He did his manager, himself and his teammates proud by getting through 89 of them.
What next?
Now, everyone will be wondering whether he stays in the team or drops out, having just come back from injury and Arsenal on the horizon on Tuesday?
I’d suspect he will play, again with in-form Dan Burn, and then be given the week off, wit Fabian Schar back for Bromley in the FA Cup.