De Jong set for Newcastle return at Aston Villa
Siem de Jong could make his competitive Newcastle United debut against Aston Villa on Saturday after returning to training this week.
The Netherlands international has only featured in close-season friendlies for the club, having arrived from Ajax in July.
De Jong scored against Oldham Athletic and Sydney in non-competitive fixtures, but missed Newcastle's Premier League opener against Manchester City last weekend due to a calf injury.
However, Alan Pardew confirmed that the 25-year-old has been in training and could feature against Paul Lambert's side at Villa Park.
"Siem de Jong has trained all week and will be in the squad for Villa," said Pardew on Thursday.
"[Cheick] Tiote has been running outside and working towards training [after a hamstring injury]."
Newcastle and Villa come into the game off the back of differing results, with Pardew's side losing to the champions at St James' Park and Villa beating Stoke City 1-0.
The Newcastle boss expects a tough test from Villa who started the campaign well despite struggling last term.
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"We will be facing a Villa side who will be full of confidence after a great away win last week," he added.
"We have to be stiff opposition."
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