The Newcastle United plan for Jamal Lewis

But Eddie Howe’s given Lewis hope that he can re-establish himself at the club after injury-hit few months.

Lewis – who suffered a hamstring injury at Anfield last December – was cut from the club’s 25-man Premier League squad for the second half of last season so he could have surgery on a groin problem.

The 24-year-old left-back hasn’t featured this pre-season. Howe, however, still “believes” in Lewis, who joined the club from Norwich City in the summer of 2019.

“Jamal, we hope, can stay fit and show us what he’s capable of,” said Howe. “I believe in him as a player, but he’s just had really bad luck. He’s got a lot to offer physically, we’ve certainly seen that in pre-season – an incredible athlete. He needs consistency of training at the moment – and hopefully he can get that.”

Howe issued an injury update after Tuesday night’s 3-2 defeat to Benfica at the Estadio da Luz, which goalkeeper Martin Dubravka missed after spraining his wrist in training.

"Martin’s got a sprained wrist from fielding a ball at close range,” said Howe. “We don’t think it’s too serious. The others, I think you know about. Fede Fernandez and Jamal Lewis, they’re working their way back to fitness.

"(Ryan) Fraser was missing with a family issue. We still haven’t seen (Javier) Manquillo. We’re due to see him when we return to England.”

Newcastle take on Atalanta at St James’s Park tonight.