Jamal Lewis is in Austria with the Newcastle United first-team, but his pre-season preparations are not going to plan.
The left-back hasn’t played for the Magpies in 2022 due to injury and being dropped from the Premier League squad, but there is hope that he can make a comeback this season.
It was reported earlier in the summer that Eddie Howe was going to give Lewis a chance to save his Newcastle career, and the Toon boss has been true to his word.
While the likes of Ciaran Clark, Jeff Hendrick and Dwight Gayle were told the train with the Under-21s, Lewis has been with the first-team.
They are currently in Austria, but all is not going to plan for the £15million man.
Jamal Lewis struck down by injury again
Despite being pictured in training, Lewis wasn’t involved in the club’s 5-1 win over Gateshead. He was then seen arriving in Austria with the entire first-team squad.
However, beyond coming second in go-karting, that’s all we’ve seen of the 24-year-old. He hasn’t been pictured in training, while he didn’t feature against 1860 Munich or Mainz.
It has now been confirmed that Lewis has a muscle problem, and that he has been training alone. Callum Wilson did similar on Sunday, as Newcastle look to preserve the striker’s fitness.
As for Lewis, it’s a real shame that he hasn’t been able to feature yet, and this latest injury setback comes at the worst time.
Bad timing
This is a vital pre-season for Lewis. He needs to perform and prove he has a role to play at St James’ Park. However, he can’t do that if he’s injured.
So far we’ve seen summer signing Matt Targett and Paul Dummett play at left-back, with both players all but certain to be included in Howe’s 25-man Premier League squad.
But Lewis’ place is far from guaranteed. He has the potential to be a good player, and has the athleticism Howe wants from his full-backs. Wilson even compared him to an ‘Olympic runner‘ last year.
However, we’re yet to see him truly excel Toon shirt. He impressed when he featured last season, but was struck down by injury. Then Targett came in and made the position his own.
While he shouldn’t rush back and risk further injury, Lewis must be desperate to return to full fitness. He needs to get minutes under his belt to prove to Howe that he has a role to play this season.
However, this latest injury setback means that he is already playing catch up.
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