‘Really annoying’ – Newcastle United star Joelinton opens up on injury frustrations
Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton missed nine competitive matches in total through injury.
Newcastle United vice-captain Joelinton made his first competitive start in more than five months against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The 30-year-old Brazilian made his comeback as a substitute during the 4-1 defeat at Coventry City last Monday before being named in the starting line-up for the 1-0 loss to Villa.
He missed the final two matches of last season with a thigh injury before suffering a setback in pre-season after featuring in friendlies against Valencia and Everton.
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As a result, Joelinton missed the Magpies’ opening seven matches of the new season – five in the Premier League and two in the Carabao Cup – before using the three-week international break to regain fitness.
Reflecting on his time on the sidelines, the midfielder told the club’s matchday programme: “It's been really hard, not only this injury but the end of the season, and the other injuries that I had the last few seasons, so it's really annoying, but this is part of the job, part of football. It's part of life.
“I have setbacks but I always try to do the right thing and stay positive, and I have worked hard to be back and now just continue the work I've done and try to do everything I can to be available to be fit to help the team.”
Joelinton took the captain’s armband against Villa, with skipper Dan Burn still building up his fitness after seven weeks out with an ankle injury.
Burn returned to the matchday squad alongside Joelinton for the trip to Coventry but has been limited to back-to-back cameo appearances as an emergency striker, with Newcastle trailing in both matches.