The forgotten Newcastle United player who's now a 'contender' for Carabao Cup tie

Lewis had groin surgery last season after being left out of the club’s Premier League squad for the second half of the campaign.

And the 24-year-old, signed from Norwich City in the summer of 2020, didn't feature in the club’s pre-season fixtures as he worked on his rehabilitation.

However, Lewis – who hasn’t featured since December – is back in full training at the club, and the left-back could be involved against Tranmere Rovers in tonight’s second-round Carabao Cup tie with Dan Burn out because of a concussion and Matt Targett doubtful with a dead leg.

Asked about Lewis, Howe said: "He’s a contender, but that’s a position where we have a lot of players currently, which is great to see, because that’s not always been the case. The majority of players are fit in that position.”

Targett has missed the club’s last two games, but he had been “close” to being involved against Manchester City at St James’s Park on Sunday.

Howe added: "Matt’s doing well. He was close against Manchester City, but we didn’t really want to take that risk having not really had a big training day with him in 14 days.

"We felt it was probably two big of a risk to start him, but he’s very close to being fit.”

Meanwhile, striker Callum Wilson is having his hamstring injury assessed. Howe said: “He’s gone for a scan. We’re waiting on those results. We hope it’s not too serious.”