**_BBC_ and _Sky Sports_ pundit Micah Richards has been full of compliments for Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall.**
The 21-year-old has had a difficult time in recent months due to injury problems, but he has been back to full health since the last international break and Richards was keen to highlight his performances:
“I really like Hall at Newcastle. I really like him. I think he started in midfield as well when they got him from, it was Chelsea, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, if I remember correctly and I remember I was doing one of the games, and after the game, he said he’s normally a midfielder, but to go out at left back, but he’s so intelligent, you know, and when he goes forward,d he goes forward with conviction and has quality at the end of it as well. So I really like him.”
Hall is back to his best
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As mentioned, the fullback hasn’t been particularly fortunate with his fitness since the back end of last season. He was forced to miss the Carabao Cup final after undergoing ankle surgery, and he then had to deal with a hamstring injury at the beginning of this campaign, which kept him out for six games.
Both Hall and Tino Livramento (who also suffered a similar injury setback) have really looked sharp over the past few weeks since the November break.
Newcastle still have other fitness problems
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While Hall and Livramento are back available, Yoane Wissa is still having to overcome some hurdles. The striker has made it off the bench in the last two matches against Burnley and Bayer Leverkusen, but it was confirmed after the latter fixture by manager Eddie Howe that he’s been struck down with an illness.
There is a good chance that Wissa won’t feature that prominently [**against Sunderland**](https://newcastleunitednews.org/blog/newcastle-vs-sunderland-injury-news/) in the Tyne-Wear derby, but after being left out of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s squad for the African Cup of Nations, it is hoped that he can kickstart his Newcastle career over the Christmas period.
[**Read more about the Newcastle United First Team Squad for 2025/26 here**](https://newcastleunitednews.org/blog/newcastle-united-first-team-squad/)