Lewis Miley is set to make his long awaited return from injury vs Crystal Palace
Lewis Miley of Newcastle United celebrates with Eddie Howe
Lewis Miley of Newcastle United celebrates with Eddie Howe(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
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Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe admits Lewis Miley has been 'missed massively' during his injury lay-off.
Miley has been out of action since picking up a leg injury in the Magpies' 1-1 draw with PSG in the Champions League back in January but has returned to training ahead of Sunday's trip to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
The 19-year-old will go straight into contention to make his long awaited return to the starting XI and Howe has the option to use him either as a midfielder or as a right-back.
Despite being a midfielder by trade, Miley impressed so much at right-back during December that he kept both Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento out of the side once they returned from injury.
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And Howe admits the qualities Newcastle's teenage star possesses is like having a 'three or four in one player' in the squad.
"He’s been missed massively," Howe said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday's trip to Crystal Palace. "Sometimes with players, you know how important they are and with Lewie, we knew all his attributes and how good he is, but he’s added some new strings to his bow in recent games with the versatility.
"Suddenly when we’ve lost that, you don’t just lose one player, you lose almost three or four in one player. His composure on the ball, his decision-making, his height, his athleticism, we’ve missed all of those aspects in his performance.
"Yes, he’s only 19 and he’s still getting better and improving all the time, but we’ve got an unbelievable player on our hands and we’ll be delighted to get him back on the pitch."
Lewis Miley of Newcastle United
Lewis Miley of Newcastle United(Image: MI News/NurPhoto)
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And while Howe acknowledges that injuries will be inevitable with Miley still at such a young age, he is hopeful the worst of his injury troubles are now behind him so he can kick on and enjoy a strong end to the season.
"Hopefully, of course, the injuries will be a thing of the past for him," Howe added. "We want him to try to stay fit and to build the momentum that every player needs to be at their very best level.
"I see no reason why physically he can’t deliver that. He’s got a really nice running style, he’s really professional. He looks after himself in between games probably as well as anyone else in the squad, so I see no issue with him physically.
"Yes, he’s had a couple… the last injury he had was really unlucky and it took a lot longer than we expected, but hopefully that’s a thing of the past for him."
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