Newcastle dealt major injury blow as Eddie Howe issues Tino Livramento update ahead of Chelsea | OneFootball

Full-back will be a sore miss for the Magpies

Eddie Howe has revealed that Tino Livramento will be out until the turn of the year after the full-back suffered a knee injury.

The England international was forced off in the 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Fulham in midweek, where he was replaced at left-back by youngster Alex Murphy.

The Magpies are already short at full-back, with Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn also sidelined with their respective issues.

It meant that Howe was forced to field natural midfielder Lewis Miley at right-back, although that decision paid dividends when the youngster popped up with a last-minute winner against the Cottagers to keep the Toon’s League Cup defence alive.

However, last-gasp euphoria was not the only emotion at St James’ Park on Wednesday, with disappointment and concern surrounding Livramento’s substitution.

Howe has now confirmed Newcastle fans’ worst fears, revealing that the full-back will be out until the end of the year at least.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Newcastle’s encounter with Chelsea, Howe said of Livramento: "We don't think it's a serious injury.

“The complication we have is that Tino has injured that knee before in a very similar area.

"That always makes the potential recovery time a little bit longer. I don't think we'll see him possibly before 2026."

First-choice left-back Lewis Hall sat out the midweek fixture after feeling some “fatigue in his hamstring”, according to Howe, but he is in contention to return against his former club on Saturday.

"He could be [available for tomorrow],” Howe said.

“He felt some fatigue in his hamstring after the Sunderland game so he had a scan which didn't reveal too much so we'll see."