Sven Botman and girlfriend Chana Kesselaar are expecting their first child together, with the Newcastle United defender over the moon at their baby news, after a devastating injury blow on the pitch, which could see him out of action for up to nine months.
Artist and fashionista Chana jetted into Tyneside with the Dutch defender back in June 2022, as the couple cut short a luxury holiday for him to sign on the dotted line on a deal with NUFC, which would see him play an integral role in helping Eddie Howe’s men to qualify for the Champions League last season.
Sadly for Sven, things haven’t gone so smoothly for him this campaign, with him suffering a knee injury back in September, before returning to the team in December, only for disaster to then strike again, when he sustained an anterior cruciate ligament as Newcastle were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City last month.
READ MORE: Tim Sherwood ‘proven wrong’ over £45m Newcastle star
Get all the latest TV and showbiz news and gossip from Chronicle Live with our free newsletter..
The highly regarded centre back might not be back in a Magpies shirt for the rest of 2024, but he does have a big reason to celebrate this week, as he and Chana have announced that their are expecting a baby. A joint post that was shared on both of their Instagram grids saw Sven cradling Chana’s growing bump, as many of his team mates and their partners were quick to offer their congratulations.
Bruno Guimaraes reacted: “Congrats bro,” as the likes of Joelinton, Joe Willock and Anthony Gordon posted love hearts and Paul Dummett wrote: “Congrats.” There were also replies from the club’s co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi and former fan favourite Allan Saint-Maximin.
The last post that appeared on Sven’s Instagram before the baby announcement was a note he penned about his injury, in which he wrote about ‘fighting so hard’ to avoid having to have surgery and not being able to do ‘what he loves most’ for a while. Sven ended the statement: ‘My team Newcastle United remain the most important and I will continue to support you every day.