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Townsend - 'I'm Raring To Go'
Written by Newcastle Utd
Andros Townsend has admitted that he rushed back from a hamstring injury to help Newcastle's survival bid, but the winger is now fully fit ahead of the trip to Norwich
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
Andros Townsend has revealed he's now fully fit and "raring to go" following the international break.
The winger had made a bright start to life on Tyneside following his January move from Tottenham Hotspur before suffering a hamstring injury towards the end of February.
He missed Newcastle's defeats to Stoke and Bournemouth as a result, but returned as a second-half substitute in Rafa Benitez's first game in charge, at Leicester, and started the 1-1 draw against Sunderland.
However, the 24-year-old has admitted that having nearly a fortnight between that match and United's next fixture at Norwich on Saturday has been something of a blessing on a personal level.
Townsend told nufc.co.uk: "I did rush back for the last two games because they were very important matches.
"But I think now, with the international break, I've had a chance to let the hamstring heal even more. Now I'm fully fit, 100 per cent, and raring to go for the last eight games of the season.
"I think it (the break) was exactly what I needed. To have the injury I had and come back within two weeks is rare but I did that and managed to get through both games. But now I'm 100 per cent and hopefully I can stay injury free from now until the end of the season.
"I was brought here to help the Club stay in the Premier League and I can't do that from the treatment table, so I did all I could to get back as soon as I could. Now, like I said, I'm 100 per cent fit and I'm ready to give it my all to help us stay in the Premier League."
It's that kind of attitude that United will need to show between now and the last day of the season, when the Magpies host Townsend's former club, Tottenham.
Newcastle find themselves in the bottom three but know three points at Carrow Road this weekend would give a huge boost to their chances of avoiding the drop.
"Any team in the Premier League is going to give you a difficult challenge, especially at their place," warned Townsend.
"The crowd will sense how important a game it is and they'll get behind them (Norwich) so it's down to us to start fast - as we have a few times since I've been here - and quieten the crowd. Who knows what can happen from there?
"The manager will have watched the way they play and he'll tell us what we need to do and how to exploit their weaknesses. I'm sure there's no better manager out there to do that than the manager we have now."