Why Lewis Miley was not in the Newcastle United squad against West Ham

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Lewis Miley was conspicuous by his absence during Newcastle United’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham.

The 18-year-old was not part of the Newcastle United squad on Monday night, having been on the bench for the Magpies’ previous five games.

However, he was nowhere to be seen when Eddie Howe’s starting XI and substitutes were announced for the game against West Ham at St James’ Park.

That came after Howe called Miley an ‘unbelievable athlete’ during his pre-match press conference.

• READ MORE: Who is Lewis Miley? Age, Height, Position, Salary, School, Brothers

Craig Hope explains Lewis Miley absence

With Howe able to name nine substitutes, it was a surprise to see Lewis Miley not even named on the bench, with Sandro Tonali the only reserve centre-midfielder.

Now the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope has explained why Miley was not involved, insisting that the Toon wonderkid is not suffering from a new injury.

He wrote on X: “No injury for Lewis Miley I understand. Howe had to make tough calls on bench with Trippier and Wilson back.”

Newcastle could have benefitted from having Miley in reserve

With Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier back from injury, Newcastle’s squad suddenly looks a lot healthier.

That allowed Howe to name a bench full of senior players, with Miley missing out.

In truth, Newcastle could have benefitted from Miley’s presence in reserve. You could argue that he would have been a more useful substitute than Miguel Almiron on Will Osula.

Once Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes came on, Almiron was never getting any minutes. Meanwhile, Osula was extremely unlikely to play as soon as Wilson made his return from injury.

In contrast, the Magpies ended the game with Lewis Hall playing in centre-midfield alongside Sandro Tonali.

It is a shame that Miley was not even able to make the bench against West Ham, and that sums up how difficult it is going to be for him to feature this season. In truth, he might have to wait until the FA Cup third round to start for Newcastle.

However, Miley could soon return to the bench, as it is unclear how severe Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock’s injuries are. If either of them are going to be ruled out, Miley will likely be restored to the squad.