Eddie Howe confirms Newcastle defender ‘a doubt’ for Spurs

Eddie Howe has confirmed that Lewis Hall is unlikely to feature against Spurs in the Premier League this weekend.

Set for a big top-half-of-the-table showdown, Newcastle are preparing to host Ange Postecoglou’s Magpies in Saturday’s early kick-off.

And with both teams looking to continue their push for European qualification, fans will know just how much will be at stake when the sides square off tomorrow.

However, for Newcastle, if they’re to get any kind of result against the Lilywhites, Howe must do so without the help of one of his most in-form full-backs.

Newcastle injury news: Eddie Howe admits Lewis Hall ‘a doubt’ for Spurs clash

According to his manager, Hall, 19, who is spending the season at St. James’ Park on loan from Chelsea, is ‘a doubt’ after experiencing ‘tightness in his quad’ muscle.

“(Hall has) tightness in his quad,” the Magpies boss told reporters.

“No muscle pull directly but enough to see him miss training this week. He’s a doubt for the game.”

Set to be sidelined due to this development, Newcastle will probably have to rely on playing Dan Burn at left-back.

There is a glimmer of hope for Tino Livramento though. The former Southampton full-back is in with a chance of returning after Howe admitted he is ‘the closest player to coming back’,

“The closest player to coming back would be Tino Livramento,” he added.

“He has not trained with the team but has been out on the grass.”

Saturday afternoon’s game, which is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 p.m. (UK time), will be broadcast live on TNT Sports. You can see our full match preview, including early team news and our prediction, here.