Archive
Comeback Goal An Early Birthday Present For De Jong
Written by Newcastle Utd
Siem de Jong was delighted to score in his comeback match on Tuesday - the day before his 26th birthday
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
Siem de Jong received an early birthday present as he marked his first appearance since late August with a goal in Tuesday's behind-closed-doors friendly victory over Carlisle United.
The Dutchman, who turned 26 on Wednesday, had been sidelined with a thigh injury but made his comeback against the Cumbrians at Newcastle's Benton training ground and scored a well-taken 17th-minute goal in a 3-1 win.
He showed some great touches before coming off at half-time in a planned substitution and is now likely to play in a couple of under-21 matches before coming back into first-team contention.
And, speaking to nufcTV, a delighted De Jong said: "It was just 45 minutes but it was good. Hopefully I'll be back playing real games soon and this was a nice start.
"I've been training for a while now and training with the group as well, but this is different. You feel it - when you play 45 minutes, it's really different to heavy training so it's good to be playing.
"I felt alright and scored a goal, so I was glad with that. But it's the first game in four months so I have to be patient and keep playing games so we'll see where it goes.
"Of course you want to score when you play but just to be on the pitch and play with the team, be part of the team - that's what I've missed."
Gabriel Obertan, Davide Santon, Mehdi Abeid and Jonas Gutierrez also played in Tuesday's match as John Carver - who was this week appointed as the Club's head coach until the end of the season - watched on alongside Steve Stone.
And former Ajax skipper De Jong, whose last Barclays Premier League appearance came in the 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace, believes key players are beginning to return at just the right time for the Magpies.
He said: "They're coming back from injury so hopefully we'll have a strong team in the coming weeks with people coming back, and it'll get the competition going in the team."
Click here to watch the nufcTV interview with Siem de Jong