**Newcastle United’s academy graduate Lewis Miley is still sidelined with a muscle injury sustained during the game against Paris Saint-Germain in January.**
Originally [labelled as a ‘dead leg’,](https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2026/02/18/official-update-on-lewis-miley-as-newcastle-star-misses-qarabag-clash/) the fact that Miley has now missed two months of football, we’re sure there’s a lot more to it than just a dead leg.
Miley was expected to return to action for the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie against Barcelona, but the 19-year-old missed that game, and subsequently missed the game against Sunderland at the weekend.
We expect he’ll be in contention when Newcastle return to action on the 12th April against Crystal Palace, but in what capacity remains to be seen.
It’s crazy to think just how much we’ve missed Miley since he picked up his injury. The fact that a 19-year-old can have such an impact on how well the team performs shows what a generational talent we have on our hands.
Newcastle absolutely have to look after Miley, and that’s why he’s not being rushed back from injury. And now it seems that the club are also set to look after him in other ways too by offering him improved contract terms.
According to [Fabrizio Romano](https://x.com/fabrizioromano/status/2036860453557575881?s=46), Newcastle are already in talks with Miley over a new contract in the hope of keeping him tied down for the long-term.
Romano states that several ‘top clubs’ are showing interest and keeping a close eye on his development, pushing Newcastle to open discussions over a new and improved deal.
The boyhood Newcastle fan’s heart belongs to the Toon, but that’s never a guarantee that he’ll stay here for the remainder of his career. Money talks, as does success, and if Newcastle fails to match his level, he’s going to want to move. Maybe not in the very near future, but at some point down the line.
Newcastle must protect themselves against this, and offering the youngster a new deal will help to swat away early interest.
Having already lost one exciting academy graduate in Elliot Anderson, Newcastle will be very wary of repeating that mistake. Although Anderson’s exit was more enforced upon us through ridiculous PSR rules, we do wonder how much longer we’d have kept hold of him anyway if Eddie Howe didn’t give him more regular game time.
That’s another thing we need to be wary of with Miley. There’s a fine line between protecting his development and holding him back, and there was an argument to be made that with Anderson, Howe was doing the latter, as he has thrived at Nottingham Forest by playing regularly.