Newcastle have been handed a boost over the prospects of Jamal Lewis’ availability ahead of the visit of Manchester United on Saturday night.
The left-back, who signed for the Magpies in September from Norwich City, will miss Northern Ireland’s Nations League clash with Norway on Wednesday night with an Achilles injury.
However, his national manager Ian Baraclough delivered a positive update to Sky Sports on the severity of the problem: “He’s gone to have a scan on his ongoing Achilles niggle, but it’s nothing to worry about. It’s improving.”
Having played 210 minutes across the first two matches of the international break, Lewis’ withdrawal from the squad will come as music to the ears of many Newcastle fans, allowing the 22-year-old time to recover ahead of the resumption of the Premier League.
Lewis has had a busy start to the 2020/21 campaign, appearing in all four of Newcastle’s league fixtures, playing all 90 minutes on three occasions.
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After such an impressive start to his career at St James’ Park, fans will be desperate for Lewis to provide a positive fitness update ahead of Saturday night.
The young full-back has been an energetic presence down the left side and has provided a constant threat in attacking positions as well as linking up with Allan Saint-Maximim.
Should Lewis fail to recover in time, Steve Bruce could turn to Paul Dummett to deputise.
However, with Dummett himself lacking match fitness the alternatives include playing the likes of Javier Manquillo and DeAndre Yedlin out of position.
