Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall missed Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win over Fulham.placeholder image
Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall missed Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win over Fulham. | Getty Images
Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall missed Wednesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Fulham due to injury.
Lewis Hall is facing a fresh fitness battle after being ruled out of the Carabao Cup win over Fulham at St James’ Park.
The left-back was suffering with his hamstring ahead of the match and was forced to miss out at Yoane Wissa and Lewis Miley scored to help The Magpies secure a semi-final spot as their Carabao Cup defence continued.
Newcastle will face Manchester City over two legs come the new year as they look to reach a third final in four seasons.
First, they return to Premier League action against Hall’s former club Chelsea on Saturday (12:30pm kick-off), looking for a reaction from Sunday’s derby defeat at Sunderland.
But Eddie Howe faces some serious defensive problems with just two fit senior defenders to choose from as things stand. Malick Thiaw and Fabian Schar are Newcastle’s only two recognised senior defenders with the pair starting at centre-back against Fulham.
Defensively, Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth are sidelined while Hall is a fresh concern along with Tino Livramento, who suffered a knee injury during the win over Fulham. Centre-back Jamaal Lascelles has not started a match for the club since suffering an ACL injury in March 2024 but has returned to training again this week following a recent muscle injury.
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Eddie Howe assesses NUFC’s defence ahead of Chelsea clash
While Livramento could be facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering another knee injury, Howe was more positive regarding Hall’s hamstring issue.
The pair both started their careers at Chelsea, Newcastle’s next opponents.
“We've got Chelsea now coming up on Saturday, midday kick-off, no time to recover,” Howe explained. “And with a really stretched back line, I mean, losing Tino is the negative from the game, the big negative.
“We don't quite know how bad that is, but it's not looking good. It looks like a knee problem, which Tino's had issues with knee injuries before.
“So, the fact he had to come off and he's such an honest, dependable lad, that sends worrying signs, really, for his participation maybe in the Chelsea game. Let's wait and see.
“Lewis, we were more positive on. He couldn't play today. He felt some tightness in his hamstring, but he has a chance for Chelsea.”
While Howe’s update on Hall was positive, the defender’s latest issue comes at the end of an injury-hit 2025. Hall was ruled out between February and August with a foot injury that required surgery before picking up a hamstring issue that kept him out for six matches earlier this season.
Now he has suffered a fresh hamstring issue but will be looking to return sooner rather than later. But if Hall isn’t available, Newcastle have a player primed to make his full competitive debut.
Newcastle United full-back alternative confirmed
With Hall unavailable, Livramento played at left-back while midfielder Miley played at right-back against Fulham.
Defender Alex Murphy came off the bench to replace Livramento on Wednesday night following his injury. The 21-year-old has featured four times for Newcastle in competitive matches since making his debut against Chelsea over two years ago.
Now he could make his first start for The Magpies against the same opposition this weekend.
“We are really, really stretched,” Howe said. “We've got a number of injuries to the same position, which is never good.
“Alex did really well. He's played left-back a lot for us in training. He's worked really hard behind the scenes.
“He's always working in his game. This was a big moment for him in a big game. I thought he really responded to the challenge. Yeah, we're really pleased for him.”
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