Lewis Hall 'honest' Newcastle United injury latest ahead of Premier League return v Manchester City
Lewis Hall is set to return to Newcastle United’s starting line-up against Manchester City on Saturday.
Lewis Hall has started just two competitive matches for Newcastle United since February due to some major injury issues.
The 21-year-old suffered a foot injury in February that required surgery and ruled him out for around five months, meaning he missed the Carabao Cup final win and Champions League qualification. After returning to the starting in September, Hall picked up a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the starting line-up since.
The left-back has returned from injury as a substitute in each of Newcastle’s last two matches but is now set to be named back in the starting line-up for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City at St James’ Park (5:30pm kick-off).
Lewis Hall poised to return to starting XI for NUFC
Tino Livramento is closing in on a return from a knee injury while Dan Burn is suspended following his red card against Brentford last time out, giving Hall an opportunity to return to the starting line-up at left-back this weekend.
Discussing Hall’s return to the starting line-up before the international break, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said: “He's closer, definitely.
“I think we have to remember he's had very, very limited training time, so I have to be careful with him. But of course, he's very much in my thoughts because of the quality of player that he is.
“But he's had a difficult period in the last few months. He obviously had a serious injury. The hamstring that he suffered this time wasn't serious, but it was enough to keep him out of action for a period of time.
“So, he's such an important player, we need him fit for the long term.”
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Hall provides positive injury update ahead of Newcastle United return
Hall has got a taste of starting matches again while on international duty with England Under-21s during the break from club action.
Hall was named in England Under-21s’ starting line-up for the 2-0 win over Republic of Ireland Under-21s at St Andrews last week, winning a penalty for the opening goal. Hall and his Newcastle teammate Lewis Miley are set to be involved for Tuesday’s European Championship qualifier in Slovakia.
During the international break, Hall addressed his injury struggles but was keen to put a positive spin on what has been a big setback for him this year.
When asked if the injury issues have made him more cautious on the pitch, Hall responded via The Sun: “Not at all if I’m honest.
“If anything, it’s made me more hungry and given me that extra bit of desire to get back to the levels that I was at last year.
“[The foot injury] was the worst part of my career so far. The cup final was incredibly hard to take.
“Even now — although we won and I’ve got my medal and everything — it still hurts quite a lot seeing that and not being able to be there.
“Not so much not being able to play, but I’d had my surgery five days beforehand, so I wasn’t able to get to the game and celebrate with the team, which was difficult.”
Hall was one of Newcastle’s top performers last season prior to his injury and his form was rewarded by breaking into the senior England squad for the first time last November.
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Lewis Hall’s World Cup ambitions
Despite not being in any of Thomas Tuchel’s England squads so far, Hall believes he can get in the squad for the upcoming World Cup in North America last summer.
But Hall revealed he has spoken to Tuchel about his England ambitions.
He said: “I had [Tuchel] at Chelsea before, so I knew a little bit about his style of play. So it was more of a reintroduction and giving me the confidence to keep going.