Lewis Hall injury: Newcastle United defender faces spell out with hamstring issue
Newcastle United have confirmed that Lewis Hall will be sidelined for several games after suffering a fresh hamstring problem.
The 21-year-old was expected to feature against Nottingham Forest on Sunday after Eddie Howe indicated he was “available,” but Hall was not included in the matchday squad.
Speaking before the game, Howe explained:
“I’d say he’d be available [to face Nottingham Forest]. But Lewis has had a few small issues in his body and hasn’t felt completely right. We just need to get him back to the level he was before his injury — playing regularly and looking physically strong. Sometimes we forget how young he is, so we have to manage him carefully.”
The Newcastle boss added that Hall will eventually return to full fitness and be capable of handling a demanding schedule, saying:
“He’ll get back to that stage where he can play fluently again and cope with the workload. For now, we just have to look after him a bit.”
However, after the Forest match, Howe admitted the situation had worsened:
“We’ve been managing him back, but unfortunately he felt something again. We’ve had it scanned and are waiting for confirmation on how long he’ll be out.”
Hall is now awaiting another scan in around 10 days to determine the extent of the problem. Howe described the injury as “not short-term,” though he hopes it won’t become a long-term absence either.
With Hall sidelined, the Magpies have limited options at left-back. Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth can cover the position but are naturally right-sided players.
“It’s a concern for us,” Howe admitted. “Dan [Burn] has done really well there recently. Some players can switch sides comfortably — Tino Livramento made it look easy — but it’s not simple. Alex Murphy is also developing well and can step in if needed, but beyond that, we don’t have many other choices.”
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