Schar: was good to be back after my Covid battle
STOPPER FAB GETS BACK INTO ACTION
FABIAN Schar has opened up on his coronavirus struggles after returning to action against Manchester City on Boxing Day.
The Swiss international defender was ruled out for four games earlier this month as he was one of a number of Magpies players, including Jamaal Lascelles, Allan SaintMaximin, Isaac Hayden and Federico Fernandez, to be struck by the illness.
But he returned to the starting line-up in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City after 10 days in bed that left him feeling ‘ quite bad’ and ‘very weak’.
“I was happy to be back,” Schar told NUFC TV.
“I didn’t think after my illness with Covid that I would be back on the pitch after one or two training sessions, but it was nice to get that freedom from the gaffer.
“For 10 days, I was feeling quite bad. I was in bed doing nothing and I felt very weak.
“I needed some time to get over it and I didn’t expect to be on the pitch like I was on Boxing Day, but I felt quite good to play.
“I had one training session with the team and I spoke to the gaffer. He asked me and I said I just wanted to play again as soon as possible.
“He gave me the confidence and it was good to be back. Hopefully now we can get some better results.
“I am feeling quite OK and in the game, physically, I felt quite good. It was good to be back. I am quite happy to have two more days to recover. The day after I felt a bit tired but I think I will be better on game day.”
Schar lasted the whole 90 minutes and, despite defeat at the Etihad Stadium, the 29-year-old felt the Magpies’ performance was an improvement after failing to beat Leeds, Fulham and Brentford across the last fortnight.
“We didn’t have a good week before the Man City game and we knew it was going to be a tough game against one of the best teams in the league,” Schar added.
“I think the performance was an improvement from the last couple of games but the result was nothing that we wanted.
“But the team, the shape, we tried to play a bit higher and we have another tough game against Liverpool so we need to look to make more improvements.”
Things don’t get any easier for Steve Bruce’s side, though, as they welcome Premier League champions Liverpool to St James’ Park tonight.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp expects an angry reaction from his side after a disappointing 1-1 draw with West Brom, but Schar isn’t interested about how United’s opponents will be feeling heading into the game.
“We are desperate to win three points so I don’t care how they are feeling,” Schar concluded.
“Obviously, they should win the game against West Brom but I don’t want to look at other performances.
“We need to look at our team and our performance and, for sure, we will go out there and try to win this game.
“Obviously, they are a threat up front but they are also vulnerable at the back.
“We have to try to be defensively very solid and not to allow them to get many chances, and on the other side we need to believe in ourselves, take our chances and we will see.”