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Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall aren’t the only Newcastle United full-backs sidelined through injury.
Newcastle United are light on bodies at full-back following injuries to Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall.
Livramento suffered a knee injury in the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal last month. It was initially feared he had sustained an ACL injury, having done so during his Southampton days, but scan results confirmed a prognosis of eight weeks.
Less than a week later, the Magpies then lost Hall to a hamstring issue, though the good news is the former Chelsea academy graduate is expected to return before the November international break.
Newcastle United issue Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall updates
Providing an update on the pair on Friday, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said: “For Tino, he's out of the brace that he was in. Every time I speak to him, he seems positive about his return.
“I don't think there'll be any massive changes to the timeframe that he was given, but I think he's moving in the right direction.
“The second scan was good news [for Lewis Hall]. There were different scales of time he could be out, it's the shorter time, so we hope he'll be back during this period of games we have before the next international break.
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“We don't know exactly when that will be, but we expect him to, if he doesn't suffer any ill effects from anything that he's doing, to be back at some stage. And as I said from the first scan, that might not have been possible.
“So good news, he's such an important player for us and hopefully we can keep him fit.”
Newcastle United’s available full-back options
In the absence of Livramento and Hall, Dan Burn has moved out to left-back, while Kieran Trippier has started at right-back with Emil Krafth as back-up. In terms of other back-up options, Howe recently namechecked Republic of Ireland youngster Alex Murphy.
“There aren’t too many options, I would say,” Howe admitted. “I haven't got a rabbit in the hat that probably you wouldn't have thought of. It's a concern for us because it's such a key position.
“I think Dan's played really well the last two games there but, yeah, we've got players that can switch sides. That is difficult. “I think Tino Livramento made it look very easy, but it's very difficult to do. Some players probably feel more comfortable doing that than others.
“We've got Alex Murphy, who's developing all the time, who can play that role for us. But beyond that, I don't think we have too many others.”
Hidden Newcastle United injury
One full-back that hasn’t been mentioned is Harrison Ashby, who was named in the Magpies’ 25-man Premier League squad, though is yet to feature in any matchday squad this campaign.
Ashby joined from West Ham United in January 2023 but has failed to make a competitive first-team appearance, spending the previous two seasons on loan in the Championship at Swansea City and Queens Park Rangers.
The 23-year-old featured in pre-season and was deployed as a makeshift midfielder for the Sela Cup match against Atletico Madrid, but hasn’t been seen since.
And when asked if Ashby was a potential option with United short at full-back, Howe confirmed the defender is currently injured.
Howe said: “Unfortunately, at the moment, Harrison is injured. He’s been injured for a period of time with a thigh injury so we’re waiting for him to be fit again.”
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