Newcastle midfielder Ki Sung-yueng is determined to make up for lost time after being left “very depressed” by the injury which shattered his Asian Cup dream.
The 30-year-old South Korea international returned to action for the Magpies in Saturday’s 3-2 Premier League victory over Everton after a 14-game absence dating back to December.
Ki picked up a hamstring injury in his country’s opening game in the tournament, a 1-0 win over the Philippines, and then aggravated it in training and headed back to Tyneside for treatment.
He said: “I was out for two months and away from the pitch. The injury occurred after the first game in the Asian Cup, then I came back to training and got injured again, so I had to come back to Newcastle, which was very disappointing.
“I never expected this and I was very depressed and disappointed. But this is the life of a footballer and you get injuries.
“I couldn’t play until February and I was focused on getting back and waiting for my chance to play for Newcastle again. I am not 100 per cent fit yet, but I will be better as I play more games.”
Ki was in fine form before he met up with his international team-mates, but looked rusty on his return in place of the injured Sean Longstaff on what proved to be an eventful afternoon at St James’ Park.
The Magpies trailed 2-0 with 25 minutes remaining having missed a first-half penalty, but hit back trough Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez’s double to snatch a priceless win.
The former Swansea midfielder said: “We could have easily given up and it could have been heads down. In the dressing room, we said that if we got one goal that a second and third is possible.
“We’re very happy with the result, but we’re not finished yet. We have to keep going until the last game of the season.”
