‘Well in’ – Newcastle United midfielder update after being ruled out for seven months.
Newcastle United midfielder Lewis Miley made his first competitive start in over eight months on Monday night.
The 18-year-old made his England under-21s debut as a 68th minute substitute in the goalless draw in Spain on Friday. That was followed up with his first start as the Three Lions drew 1-1 with the Netherlands last night.
He played just under an hour at the Yammar Stadion in Almere becoming one of four players to be withdrawn. Ben Futcher’s side had been on course to win via Dane Scarlett’s fifth minute opener but conceded an equaliser late on.
Miley’s appearance was acknowledged by Newcastle’s official X account, posting a photo of him in action with the action “well in, Lew.”
Stanley-born Miley hadn’t started a competitive game since March after his breakthrough season at Newcastle was cut short because of a back injury. He went on to make 26 appearances in all competitions with his goal in the 3-0 win over Fulham last December making him the club’s youngster-ever Premier League goalscorer.
The midfielder was on track to return for pre-season but fractured his metatarsal in a freak incident when running with one the club’s fitness coaches. He didn’t play for seven months before making his return as a late substitute in the recent 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Chelsea.
Despite his lengthy spell on the sidelines, Miley remains highly-rated having recently penned a lucrative multi-year deal to replace Liverpool star Trent Alexander Arnold as the ‘north face’ face of American sportswear company Under Armour.
Miley had previously represented Adidas, who recently returned as the Magpies’ official kit partner this summer in a deal worth a reported £30million per season.
He now returns to Tyneside as Eddie Howe’s side get ready to host West Ham United on Monday evening. United go in search of a fourth successive win having beaten Chelsea, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest in recent weeks.
Speaking about Miley last month, Howe said: “He’s an outstanding player, he’s shown that in coming back to training. You’d expect to see some rustiness from him technically or some physical development still to go, but I think he’s come back physically like a changed athlete.
“He’s more solid and filled out which will naturally come as he gets older, but he looks like he’s used his time away from the training pitch very well.”
