Fresh St James' Park footage reveals Newcastle United injury boost for Chelsea clash - eight out

Newcastle United have been boosted by the return of Lewis Hall for this afternoon’s Premier League clash against Chelsea.

Newcastle had just three senior defenders available for Wednesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final victory over Fulham before suffering another blow in the closing stages of the game.

Eddie Howe’s side, already without Hall, Kieran Trippier, Emil Krafth, Sven Botman, Dan Burn and Jamaal Lascelles, saw Tino Livramento withdraw with a knee injury in the 74th minute.

Newcastle United witthout Tino Livramento

And following further assessment, Livramento, whose knee was heavily strapped and iced up at full-time, will be sidelined for the next few weeks at least.

Speaking at his pre-Chelsea press conference, Howe said: “I don't think it's a serious injury. The complication we have is that I think Tino has injured that knee before in a very similar area.

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

“I think it's like any player. When you suffer an injury to the same area twice, that always adds a layer of complication to it. I think it's a minor injury, but it will keep him out for probably a few weeks.”

Newcastle United hope for Lewis Hall boost v Chelsea

Newcastle ended the Fulham game with just two senior defenders - Malick Thiaw & Fabian Schar - on the pitch with midfielder Lewis Miley at right-back and 21-year-old Alex Murphy at left-back.

Murphy is set to be on the bench again with Hall coming into the starting XI. Hall has been videoed by NewcastleWorld arriving at St James’ Park ahead of kick-off.

Howe hinted on Friday that Hall would return. He said: “Yeah, he could be [available v Chelsea]. He felt some fatigue in his hamstring after the Sunderland game. It wasn't evident in the game, it was more the couple of days afterwards. So he had a scan, the scan didn't reveal too much. So let's see.”

Newcastle United without eight players against Chelsea

Newcastle are without six senior defenders against the Blues. Trippier and Krafth out until in and around the New Year, while Burn is out for the next four to six weeks. When Botman and Lascelles are due back is unclear at the moment.

In addition to those defenders, goalkeeper Nick Pope is still absent but is close to a return, while striker Will Osula won’t return until January.