I’ve had a’mad’ three years with Newcastle United and now Leeds United have sought to sign me.
Matt Targett, Newcastle United’s left-back, has opened up about his injury problems, which kept him out for more than a year.
Targett suffered a hamstring injury in the Magpies’ 3-0 win away to Manchester United in November 2023 before going on to tear his Achilles when he returned in March.
The 29-year-old missed the whole of pre-season but was named on the bench for the Premier League opener against Southampton at St James’ Park.
Targett appeared for the under-21s in a Tyne-Wear derby tie with Sunderland a few days later, although he was soon sidelined again due to eczema symptoms.
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It wasn’t until Boxing Day, 13 months later, that Targett made his first-team comeback as a late substitute in a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa. He subsequently earned his first start in the FA Cup third round against Bromley earlier this month.
“It has been mad,” Targett said. “Since I joined, some of the injuries I’ve had are insane.
“When I injured my hamstring away at Manchester United and healed, I think I was back for a week or two before getting a tear in my Achilles, which pushed me back another three or four months.
“Going into this season, I knew I’d miss the entire”In my head, I was thinking, ‘OK, it’s not great that I missed all of the pre-season games, but I’m not missing too much of the season.'” I was just trying to come back as strong as possible for that, and then I had an eczema flare-up, which was completely unexpected, and it knocked me for six, so that set me back a little. preseason with the team but would try to get back in and around the team for the first few games.”
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“Since I got back from that, I’ve simply steadily increased my workload in terms of practicing consistently with the team, getting a few minutes with the 21s, and then the game against Bromley was the cherry on top. “It’s been a difficult period, for sure, so it was nice to play again.”
Targett has started only 12 games since signing permanently from Villa for £15 million in the summer of 2022. In the preceding four months on loan, the full-back started 16 games.
He is now behind Lewis Hall, Lloyd Kelly, and Dan Burn in the pecking order. Newcastle are said to be open to offers for the midfielder, with Leeds United among those who have expressed interest.
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