Eddie Howe removes Newcastle United’s midfielder from the Premier League matchday squad against Crystal Palace.

Eddie Howe excludes Newcastle United’s midfielder from the Premier League matchday squad against Crystal Palace.

Eddie Howe has excluded Lewis Miley from Newcastle United’s match against Crystal Palace, as the midfielder is currently focussing on improving his match sharpness.

Miley has not appeared in the Premier League for Newcastle since March, and his sole appearance this season occurred in stoppage time of the 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea last month.

The 18-year-old has fallen down the midfield pecking order after making 26 appearances for Newcastle last season. This is a result of the returns of Sandro Tonali, Joe Willock, and Joelinton, as well as his subsequent injury.

The adolescent was not included in the matchday squad for The Magpies’ 2-0 loss to West Ham United at St James’ Park on Monday night. Additionally, he will be unable to attend the excursion to Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Rather, Miley was a member of the Newcastle Under-21s team that faced Crystal Palace Under-21s at Whitley Park on Friday night. Ben Parkinson scored the sole goal of the encounter in a 2-0 victory, during which the midfielder played 79 minutes.

Miley was temporarily reassigned to the Under-21s in order to accumulate more playing time on the pitch.

This month, he made his England Under-21s debut, making his first competitive start in eight months in a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.

Miley’s prolonged absence from the field was precipitated by a back injury that was subsequently followed by a fractured metatarsal that she sustained during the off-season.

Howe declared during his press conference on Friday morning that Miley would not be included in the first-team squad for the journey to Palace if he were to participate in the Under-21s match. “He will not be travelling at this time,” Howe informed The Gazette.

“I believe that Lewy should participate in the game.” He sustained an injury for an extended period, and engaging in activities will be significantly more beneficial to him than travelling with us.