Devastating news on Lewis Hall - Newcastle’s worst fears now confirmed

Just days after losing Anthony Gordon to suspension, another key player in Eddie Howe’s squad will unfortunately miss out on the 2025 Carabao Cup final.

Lewis Hall has now been ruled out through injury, having seen an ankle specialist just a few days ago.

Eddie Howe must now choose between one of Matt Targett, Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento to deputise in Hall’s place against the in-form Mo Salah.

Lewis Hall injury update

Hall, who was absent from Newcastle’s FA Cup defeat against Brighton, suffered his ankle injury match against Liverpool at Anfield and has had pain and swelling since.

In an exclusive coming courtesy of The Mail’s  Craig Hope late last night, Hall was seen by a specialist and has now been ruled out of the Carabao Cup final.

Hope said: “The full extent of his absence will be known in the coming days, but he will not be available for the final on March 16.”

Left-back options for Howe

Full back is perhaps one of the few areas on the pitch that Howe has some sort of credible squad depth, though not enough to match Hall’s league-renowned status as one of the best in the business.

Tino Livramento already deputised for Hall during the aforementioned defeat to Brighton, though he’s a player already dealing with fatigue after struggling at the end of Sunday’s game.

Kieran Trippier has also been a dependable defender for Howe in recent times, but he is much preferred on the right hand side of the back line and was forced off last weekend with a back issue.

Then there is Matt Targett. The former Aston Villa defender’s lack of minutes and position in the pecking order makes him far from first choice, though this is the same Newcastle side who had to play Loris Karius in net in their previous Carabao Cup final two years ago.

Newcastle’s predicted lineup?

Losing Hall means Howe has not only lost a much improved defender who kept Salah relatively quiet last week, but one of our best attacking outlets.

The question now, besides what other unfortunate bad luck will Newcastle experience next, is how will the Magpies’ now line up at Wembley?

Whether it’s a back four or five, it’s likely we see Livramento at left-back and Trippier on the right, with Willock and Miley battling for that third midfield slot if Joelinton starts down the left ahead of Harvey Barnes.

Joelinton’s physical presence at ability to play both left wing and in the heart of the midfield make him well suited to stopping both Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, although Barnes is a slightly more attack minded alternative on the left with Gordon now ruled out.

With the success of the five-at-the-back system in the semi-finals against Arsenal, can we expect Howe and co. to adopt this defensive formation once more?

To do that we’ll have to hope Sven Botman can return, with Emil Krafth another option to support the out-of-form and ageing Dan Burn and Fabian Schar.