Newcastle midfielder Christian Atsu has confessed to the Northern Echo that his recovery from a knee operation has taken longer than expected.
The surgery, which took place in the summer, meant Atsu missed most of pre-season and has led to Rafa Benitez only naming the 26 year-old in his starting lineup once in the Premier League this season.
The Ghanaian international went under the knife after playing with constant knee injuries throughout his spell at Tyneside, which eventually became too painful in the second half of last season.
Now the former Chelsea man is fighting to regain his form and fitness to boost the Magpies chances of survival.
I need to give everything and work harder because, at the start of the season, I was not in good shape.
It has been more difficult to recover than I thought it would be. To be fair, it has been very difficult to come back from the injury. That is normal though. It was a knee injury, and they are always difficult to recover from. With time, I am going to be back to my very best football.
Atsu is currently away with Ghana on international duty for the African Cup of Nations qualifiers and any game time with the Black Stars should boost his fitness and confidence.
After making an impression off the bench in the win against Bournemouth last week, Atsu and Newcastle hope his injury woes are a thing of the past.
