Newcastle United fans will be wondering where Jamal Lewis is after the club released pictures of the first day in Austria.
Eddie Howe’s players have travelled for a warm weather training camp, and will also play friendlies against 1860 Munich and Mainz. Both games will be available to watch on the club’s official YouTube channel.
It will give supporters the chance to possibly see Sven Botman and Nick Pope in action for the first time, while the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson should feature too.
However, it is unclear whether or not Lewis will be involved in either friendly.
Official club photos beg the question ‘where is Jamal Lewis’
After beating Gateshead 5-1 on Saturday, the Magpies are now in Austria for two friendlies. This is in place of the cancelled trip to America.
Howe has taken his strongest squad, and it includes academy players Kell Watts, Elliot Anderson and Matty Longstaff. This comes after the latter was reportedly told to train with the Under-21s.
Despite not playing for the club in 2022, Lewis is also part of the group. He was seen arriving with the squad on Sunday.
However, the players were put through a double training session on Monday, and Lewis wasn’t pictured or videoed in either. Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin missed the first session, but they were around for the second.
Lewis’ absence remains unexplained, and it comes at a pivotal point in his Toon career.
This is an important pre-season for the 24-year-old, as he will hope to play his way back into Howe’s Premier League squad. He was dropped in January, and has since underwent surgery for a groin problem.
There was excitement when Lewis joined the club in 2020. He felt like a sensible signing from Norwich.
However, his Toon career has not gone to plan at all. There was a small renaissance last season after Howe arrived, but he went on to play no part in Newcastle’s sensational second half of the season.
But he’s got a chance this summer to force his way back in and potentially challenge Matt Targett for a place in the starting XI.
Hopefully his absence from Monday’s double training session is just a precaution and we see him in action soon.
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