NEWCASTLE’S Carabao Cup triumph is etched in Tyneside folklore — but Wembley success was the start of “the worst part” of Lewis Hall’s career.
A broken foot not only forced the 21-year-old out of the final but the surgery meant he could not attend the March showpiece in which Toon saw off Liverpool 2-1.
Six months on the sidelines also saw him miss out on the England Under-21s’ European Championship success in the summer.
Following support from his club and a sport psychologist, plus a call from Three Lions senior boss Thomas Tuchel, defender Hall is determined to put his injury hell behind him.
Exactly a year ago today he made his senior England debut against Greece. A second cap followed three days later but by the next international break disaster struck.
Back in England action for the first time since, with Lee Carsley’s U21s, Hall is desperate to make up for lost time.
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Ahead of Friday’s Euro qualifier against the Republic of Ireland at Birmingham City, he said: “It was the worst part of my career so far. The cup final was incredibly hard to take.
“Even now — although we won and I’ve got my medal and everything — it still hurts quite a lot seeing that and not being able to be there.
“Not so much not being able to play, but I’d had my surgery five days beforehand, so I wasn’t able to get to the game and celebrate with the team, which was difficult.”
Hall continued: “I spent a lot of time with my family back home, who are probably the people that I’d open up to the most.
“But at the club, we have a psychologist who I used to speak to every week.
“I used to speak to the coaching staff fairly regularly and the players.
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“I tried to keep myself having breakfast and lunch and do everything I could with them to keep myself part of the team.
“Everyone was so good with me and they knew how much it was upsetting to me to miss the cup final. It’s made me mentally a lot stronger. It’s all just part of the process.
“Now I’m just enjoying every moment and never take anything for granted these days.”
Ex-Chelsea ace Hall revealed Tuchel phoned him after taking charge of England.
He said: “I had him at Chelsea before, so I knew a little bit about his style of play.
“So it was more of a reintroduction and giving me the confidence to keep going.”
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And Hall believes the left-back spot is still up for grabs ahead of next summer’s showpiece in US, Mexico and Canada.
He added: “I have the confidence in my ability to get into the squad. That is something that I’m aiming to do.”
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