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De Jong Eager To Make Up For Lost Time
Written by Newcastle Utd
Siem de Jong can't wait to return to action after stepping up his recovery from a thigh injury during Newcastle's training camp in Dubai
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
Dutch master Siem de Jong is closing in on a return to Newcastle United's first team - and is keen to make up for lost time.
The 25-year-old former Ajax captain was signed in the summer and shone in pre-season, but has only made two appearances in the Barclays Premier League.
His last appearance was in the 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace at the end of August but De Jong returned to training this month and stepped up his recovery at the Magpies' warm-weather training camp in Dubai this week and he spoke exclusively to nufcTV during United's time in the Middle East to update supporters on his progress.
"It's a big difference to me just being able to train with the group," explained the forward, who suffered a thigh injury in training in September.
"It feels good. I still have to get more training sessions and some minutes with the under-21s in the coming weeks to get up to full strength - especially if I want to play long parts of a game.
"I need some conditioning work but also games, so it's probably going to be a couple of games with the under-21s - but also just training sessions, 11 against 11 and those kinds of things.
"It's been a long recovery. After the operation I was out for six weeks but after that I started back pretty quick and trained for two-and-a-half months by myself, so it's been a long time.
"It's difficult sometimes because you're not really in the group and you're not really with the team, but most of the time I was at the Training Centre so I'd see the guys a lot and still felt part of the team. But it difficult when you've just come here and you're out for such a long time, so I'm glad to be back training."
De Jong - United's joint-vice captain alongside Cheick Tiote - knows that the St. James' Park faithful have high hopes for a player who has won four league titles in his home country, represented Holland and played in the Champions League.
"I can understand that people expect quite a lot from you when you arrive as a new player and then you get injured for four months, so of course I want to be back in the team as soon as possible - but I have to be a little bit sensible about it," he said.
"It's always nice to have a little pressure. In games where you have pressure, I think you can do a little extra.
"I've been important in the past in important games so I hope to be here too - but first I just want to get back into the game and start playing again."
Click here to watch the full nufcTV interview with Siem de Jong