Lascelles returns to training ahead of his Toon team-mates

NEWCASTLE United captain Jamaal Lascelles has returned to the club almost a fortnight early to start his pre-season training.

The centre-back had a hernia operation towards the end of last season, which meant he missed the final two matches as the Magpies clinched the Championship title.

The rest of Newcastle’s players aren’t due to return to Tyneside for pre-season until July 3, but skipper Lascelles is back in training already.

Lascelles also revealed how he’d played through pain and struggled for fitness since Christmas last term.

He told the club website: “Everyone knows about the operation I had and so I just thought I should come in and get some extra training in because after Christmas I wasn’t really getting the condition that I wanted to be at.

“The Premier League is a completely different level and standard, so I just want to make sure I’m ready and I want to be leading by example.

“It’s been fine (the rehabilitation from a hernia operation). It’s nice to be able to run, or even just get out of bed, without any pain. I’ve been working hard with the physio and it’s nice to be getting back to feeling myself again, and now I’m looking forward to getting started.

“I think you play how you train, so I just wanted to make sure I was above myself for when we start back.”

“I’ve not really been able to have time off,” he continued. “I went away on holiday with my family to Barbados and I was still doing my program then.

“It’s just been ticking over really, and now I’m getting back in and getting the hard stuff out of the way.”