Ghana midfielder Christian Atsu has revealed that he was expecting to at least start his recovery training in January but things improved tremendously thanks to Newcastle United’s medical doctor Paul Catterson and his team.
The 25-year-old suffered a torn thigh muscle in Newcastle's 1-0 home defeat to AFC Bournemouth in October and was scheduled to return somewhere in February.
Although, he missed the club's last five games between November and early part of December, the former Chelsea winger made a quick return last weekend when he came on for Matt Ritchie in the 2-1 defeat to Leicester City in the Premier League.
“I had a muscle tear. I’m happy to tell you that I recovered quickly," Atsu told The Chronicle.
“It was supposed to be a three-month lay-off, but thanks to the doctor and medical team, and their treatment, they worked so hard to help me recover quickly," he said.
“I am pleased it’s behind me now. I always want to play and give everything I can for this club. When I get injured I get very upset, but I’m very happy to be back now and able to give my best.”
Atsu also admitted that they were disappointed with the home defeat to Leicester and hopes they will begin to pick up valuable points henceforth.
"We’re very disappointed about the outcome, but it’s a long season and we have to get on with it," he said.
“We know we have to start picking up points and how important it is to get wins when you are near the bottom.
“We don’t want to be losing in front of our fans every week.
“So we also need to fight back and give them something against Everton.”
“I believe we could have got a draw out of that game and that wouldn’t have been the worst result. We created a lot of chances too. We were unlucky with the way they scored the last goal.”
He added: “But like I say, it’s a long season and we have players coming back now from injuries.
“The more competition in the team the better and everybody is working hard.”
Atsu is expected to start on Wednesday when Newcastle play their second successive home game against Everton.
