Eddie Howe issues injury updates on Jamal Lewis and Isaac Hayden

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Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has given updates on a number of injured players. Two of the players mentioned were Jamal Lewis and Isaac Hayden. Both were taken out of the 25-man squad named after the January transfer window closed.

Lewis is suffering a groin problem as well as a previous hamstring problem suffered against Liverpool in December. Meanwhile, Hayden suffered a knee injury and even played for through December whilst he had niggles from the injury.

Howe stated on the club’s website: “Jamal’s had a long-standing groin problem and I was really pleased to see him operated on.

“We hope that that’s fixed his long-standing problem and he will, again, be okay in a relatively short period of time to return to training with us.

“And Isaac’s been working after having a serious knee injury – again, one he’d played with for a long period of time. Touch wood, he’ll be back training soon.”

Could Hayden and Lewis be coming towards the end of their Newcastle careers?

Newcastle will be looking to have an exciting window this summer. Not just in terms of signing new players, but selling players to open up squad spaces.

There’s a lot of competition in midfield with Joelinton, Jonjo Shelvey, Joe Willock, Bruno Guimaraes and Sean Longstaff all rated highly by Howe. This will make it very difficult for Hayden to work his way back into the team.

Also, at left-back, Matt Targett has really impressed since joining on loan from Aston Villa until the season ends (Sky Sports). Making any chance of Lewis getting back into the side a real challenge. The Athletic reported on January transfer deadline day that Howe was willing to let him go out on loan.

Bearing that in mind, Newcastle may want to bring in some fresh younger faces. Furthermore, with the wealth of PIF, they can now afford to bring in higher quality players.

So this could spell the end of the careers on Tyneside. In many ways it’s a real shame for both of them. Hayden has been a reliable and loyal servant since joining in 2016.

As for Lewis, he’s shown glimpses of quality but never got to meet his true potential. Newcastle would certainly make a loss on the £15 million (Sky Sports) price tag they paid Norwich to buy him.