Newcastle United star's injury hell as Eddie Howe reacts to 14-month blow

Fourteen months on from his last Newcastle United appearance, Matt Targett returned to the pitch during yesterday’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.

The 29-year-old hadn’t played a competitive game since the 3-0 Carabao Cup win away to Manchester United on November 1, 2023. Targett picked up a hamstring injury in the early stages at Old Trafford and was forced to undergo surgery.

After four months of rehabilitation, Targett recovered but then sustained an Achilles injury in training which saw him miss the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign and this pre-season.

The left-back looked to be on the road to recovery when he played 45 minutes for the under-21s in their 1-1 draw with Tyne-Wear rivals Sunderland at Whitley Park in August. But a bad episode of eczema further set Targett back.

Targett has been named among the substitutes for the last six matches and finally put an end his injury hell by coming on as a 78th minute substitute against former club Villa.

“It was when you see behind the scenes how hard he's worked and conducted himself,” said Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe.

“He's had injury troubles but he's come back and trained really, really well. He's trained as a left-back but today we knew with Tino's illness we needed him potentially if Kieran couldn't make it all the way through the game.

“Our plan pre-game was to put him on in that position and he never let us down, I thought he was excellent. He's got the experience to play on that side despite being very left-footed.”

Frustratingly for Targett, he has started just seven Premier League matches since joining permanently from Villa for £15million in the summer of 2022. In the previous four months when he was on loan, the full-back started 16 games.

But being back on the pitch after such a long time gives the player something to build on.