'Freak' Newcastle United injury explained as Eddie Howe shares recovery plan
Newcastle United youngster Lewis Miley has explained the 'freak' injury that derailed his pre-season and kept him sidelined for the start of the 2024/25 season.
The 18-year-old, who enjoyed a breakout campaign in Eddie Howe's side last term, returned to Newcastle's matchday squad as an unused substitute for the weekend defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion but won't be rushed back into action on Tyneside. Miley was ruled out at the business end of the last campaign with a lower back problem and was close to returning to the training pitch over the summer when a fresh metatarsal issue ruled him for a number of months.
“It's been a really tough period for me, returning from a back injury to then break my metatarsal,” Miley said upon his return. “It's been difficult but I'm coming towards the end of it and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel so I'm really looking forward to being back with the lads and being on the pitch again.
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“It was a freak accident (to my metatarsal). I was a week away from being back with the team for pre-season and, as I was training with one of the fitness coaches, I turned direction and felt something straightaway. It was quite painful so I knew I'd have to get it operated on, which was really tough, but I just had to try and bounce back from that.
"I've never really had injuries like these before so it was really hard at the start of it but, mentally, I feel even stronger as a person and I think it will benefit me in the future."
Newcastle's rotten injury luck last term has been well documented and the club's new director of performance James Bunce, along with Howe, is hopeful of avoiding such issues this term. The greatly increased scheduling demands, coupled with the sheer lack of available options at some stages of the season can explain why Newcastle's injury problems were exacerbated as the club missed out on European football.
Bunce is working closely, every day, with Howe after a summer summit saw all Toon chiefs in attendance agree fixing the injury issues of last year was a top priority. The aim for the new hire, and Newcastle's coaching staff, is to ensure first-team players are 'resilient' enough for three games in a week, should the club qualify for Europe once again.
While this time around the focus will be put on ensuring players are fully fit before being reintroduced into first-team actions, with the likes of Sven Botman and Callum Wilson, along with Miley, given the necessary time to recover from their respective issues of late.
Miley, only 17 at the time of his breakout in the senior side, played 26 times in total last term; significantly more than anticipated. His initial back problem came while on England youth duty, with Howe admitting being forced into 'pushing' the midfielder too hard due to a lack of alternative options in that area of the pitch.
Discussing Miley's return, Howe said: “I think he’s coming back into a great environment because he’s had a couple of injuries now, so returning from the latest problem that he’s had, it’s the best position for him to be going back into. “It’s not a case of us saying, ‘Right, he has to play – and he has to play when he’s probably not ready to play’.
“I think the reason he got the injuries that he’s suffered is probably because we had to push him too hard because there were no alternative players to use during a really condensed period of football.
“So, learning the lessons from that will be really important. We can reintroduce him at the right time. He’s got some outstanding players to compete against, but that will only help Lewis learn and develop. Hopefully, we can keep the majority of our strength in midfield.”