Jamal Lewis has been handed an unlikely opportunity to reignite his Newcastle career after being called up to Michael O'Neill's Northern-Ireland's squad to face San Marino and Finland in their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers. O'Neill was appointed for a second tenure - replacing the outgoing Ian Baraclough as Northern Ireland manager in December - having led the country to the Euro 2016 finals during his first spell.
The Magpies defender has played just seven minutes of Premier League football this season and has been left out of the matchday squad on ten out of a possible 26 occasions this season. Lewis has had to settle for a place on the bench, with Dan Burn making the left-back slot his own in Matt Targett's absence.
The Newcastle defender has made just three appearances for the first-team this season, 45 minutes in the Carabao Cup against Tranmere Rovers back in August, and then 69 minutes in the FA Cup Third Round defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
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Lewis was part of the Northern-Ireland Nations League squad in the win over Kosovo and then defeat to Greece in September, playing over 75 minutes on both occasions. But the left-back has struggled for game time under Eddie Howe and also failed to make the most of opportunities when they've come his way.
The Newcastle defender is part of a 26-man squad that's missing a number of key players. Captain Steven Davis, Corry Evans, Stuart Dallas, Alistair McCann and Shayne Lavery are all unavailable through injury, while striker Kyle Lafferty has been left out of the squad.
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