Dummett: 'Hamstring injury has been tough, but there's light at the end of the tunnel'

"It was just a sharp pain. I've had hamstring injuries before but I've never felt anything the way I did in that game. The physio came on and I just said to him 'I need to come off' because I knew it was so bad. Even when I was back in the changing room at half time, they couldn’t really assess me because they couldn't put my leg in the right position because I was in that much pain.

"You've worked so hard last season, and all pre-season, to make sure you're fit and ready for the first game of the season - a massive game against one of the best teams in the league. You never want to get any sort of injury but when you get one that's going to keep you out for a long time, it's always worse."

Dummett - who was a virtual ever-present during last term's Sky Bet Championship title-winning campaign - is now back in full training and nearing a return to action, although Saturday's game against Manchester United will come too soon for him.

But it's taken weeks of hard work in the gym, and more recently on the training pitch, to get to this point. The right-footed Javier Manquillo and Chancel Mbemba have deputised ably at left-back in his absence, but Rafa Benítez has made no secret of Dummett's importance to the team.

Speaking to nufc.co.uk after Thursday's training session, the 26-year-old former Kenton School pupil explains: "Initially when I got injured, I got the scan and stuff and I thought it might be a bit quicker, but I think I'm still ahead of schedule. I got told it would be 16 weeks and it'll be 13 weeks this weekend, so by the time I'm back playing I should be on schedule or maybe ahead of it.

"At the time, there was only me and Sadio (Haïdara) injured, and Sadio started to train eventually so there was only me injured. You're in the physio room by yourself, just watching; then it comes to a game on the weekend and you're sitting watching from the stand. It is hard to watch because you want to be out there, trying to help the team and do anything you can. That's the worst part.

"For the first four weeks, I was on crutches, in a brace, so I couldn't do anything really. I was getting a bit of treatment, then once you come out of the brace, you start to walk freely and it's a matter of building up with jogging, then in the gym doing strength work.

"The physio (Sean Beech) told me to do it in stages; you do your first four weeks in your crutches and brace, then you aim for the next point. Once you're jogging, you do your real rehab and then you aim to get fully training and playing a game.

"It's hard work - you probably work even harder when you're injured, trying to get fit, because the physio's trying to put you through a lot of intense work to make sure you can cope with full training.

"Especially with a hamstring injury, it's all about sprinting so I think it's a bit of a confidence thing - knowing you can sprint and it's not going to happen again.

"One of the biggest things is the mental side of knowing you can actually sprint. In the Premier League, that’s obviously what you’re going to have to do, especially with how quick it is when the ball goes over your head. You've got to be able to do that and I need to make sure that when the time comes, when I'm playing a game, I can do that.

"I can see light at the end of the tunnel so now I'm fully focused on getting back to play a game. I don't know how long that'll be, but I'm hoping to get a reserve game in and then try to get back into the team."

The boyhood Newcastle fan has attended every home game and watched as many away fixtures as possible, but grimaces: "It's tough because you're paid to play football and you're not doing that.

"Sometimes when you're playing, any player gets mixed reviews. Every player gets criticised, every player gets praised and I think sometimes… I hate being injured, but sometimes when you're injured people start to appreciate a bit more of what you're capable of doing.

"I think that happens, not only with me, but with other players. I think sometimes when you're not playing, sometimes they think 'yeah, we do need that player.'

"I just do my job as well as I can on what the manager asks and what the team wants. I think playing regular football week in, week out without any injuries last season, getting older and more experienced, and learning different things under the manager has definitely helped me grow as a player.

"Getting injured in the first game was a massive blow because you want to show everyone how much you've improved, and to play against some of the best players in the world in the Premier League.

"I haven't been able to do that yet this season, and I need to try to stay fit now and show that I'm good enough to play in this team and help the team survive.

"We've gained quite a lot of points that people probably didn't expect us to get but there's still a long way to go and a lot of points to play for, so hopefully I can get back in the team and help the team stay in the Premier League and climb the table."