Why Lewis Miley was taken off for Newcastle United at Luton Town as fresh injury blow confirmed

Eddie Howe felt it necessary to make a double change in the first half of Newcastle United's 1-0 defeat at Luton Town on Saturday.

The Magpies trailed 1-0 to an Andro Townsend header in the first half before Howe opted to withdraw Jamaal Lascelles and Lewis Miley in the 38th minute for Sven Botman and Alexander Isak. Lascelles' withdrawal was forced after the defender went down feeling his thigh.

When asked to explain the early double change, Howe told The Gazette: "One was an injury and I sort of used that injury and that change to change things tactically and bring on Alex and play a slightly different way to give us slightly more control in the game."

On Lascelles' injury, Howe simply said: "I'm not sure [how he is]."

Miley's early withdrawal was not due to an injury but a tactical one brought about by Newcastle's poor start to the match and Howe's desire to control the 17-year-old's minutes in matches.

"Not really [a tough decision to withdraw Miley] to be honest because controlling his minutes is something I wanted to do anyway," Howe added. "It wasn't based on his performance, it was based on a tactical decision so there's no problem. He's so young and we want to control how much he plays.

"I will sit down and talk to him of course. It wasn't something I planned to do, it was something that was very much an instinctive decision in the moment because I felt we weren't good in the game and needed to make a change."