Newcastle United simply cannot catch a break at the moment, with Lewis Hall the latest to suffer an injury blow ahead of the Carabao Cup clash with Fulham.
The star left-back has been on a good run of form of late after recovering from injury and is now seen as one of Newcastle United’s most important players.
The team news has landed! What’s your instant reaction to the XI? Feels stretched…
Lewis Miley at right-back and Yoane Wissa starts 👀
Eddie Howe has made some big calls here…
The pressure on Lewis Hall to play and perform has been heightened by the fact that Newcastle are short of defensive options, especially in light of the recent injury to Dan Burn.
However, all of Hall’s momentum has been halted once again, with the young defender excluded from the Magpies’ squad for the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Fulham.
Why is Lewis Hall missing Fulham game?
According to sources at the club, Hall is out of the squad due to what is being described as a “minor hamstring issue.”
This is the second time this season that Hall has been hit with a hamstring injury. He was out for six games back in September and October with the same issue.
The latest setback caused Eddie Howe to make some alterations to his depleted backline, with Tino Livramento moving over to left-back and Lewis Miley covering at right-back.
Outside of the Newcastle starting XI, Hall’s injury also opened up an opportunity for youngster Alex Murphy to join the squad for the game.
- READ MORE: Tino Livramento claims Lewis Hall does something ‘weird’ for Newcastle that people don’t like
How big of a blow is this? Feels like the worst possible player to get injured right now! 😡
Why Lewis Hall isn't playing for Newcastle United vs Fulham 👀
Eddie Howe will miss Lewis Hall
Losing a player of Lewis Hall’s calibre will always be an issue for any team and any manager, but given Newcastle’s injury woes right now, it’s disastrous for the 21-year-old to be on the sidelines.
Not long ago, Howe described Hall as a ‘massive player’ for Newcastle and has made it clear he sees the young defender as an important part of the long-term project at the club.
The Newcastle United manager has also previously said he is keen to manage Hall’s game time and recovery from injury carefully. Unfortunately, due to other injuries in the squad and the packed schedule for Newcastle, he hasn’t been able to do that.
Now, we face an anxious wait to see how long this latest setback will keep Hall out of action for. We know Howe wants a new full-back in January, but he must be wishing he could sign someone a couple of weeks early.
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