Ki looking to make up for lost Mags time

Ki Sung-yueng is keen to make up for lost time at Newcastle United – after missing more than two months of the club’s season.

The former Sunderland loan man made his comeback from injury at St James’s Park last weekend.

The midfielder – who suffered a hamstring while away with South Korea for the Asian Cup in January – played his part in Newcastle’s 3-2 win over Everton.

The result moved the club up to 13th in the Premier League table ahead of tomorrow’s game against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

“It was a very long time,” said Ki, who topped up his fitness in last month’s friendly against Moscow in Spain. “I was injured in January. For me, it was two months.

“I played 45 minutes against Moscow, but this was a proper league game. Of course, I was not 100% match fit, but I tried to give everything on the pitch.

“Hopefully, my form will be better and better and better as I play more games. I was just very pleased that we won.”

Ki picked up a hamstring injury in South Korea’s first fixture at the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates – and then aggravated it in training.

He was sent back to England after being ruled out of the rest of the tournament, which was won by Qatar.

“I was very frustrated, especially when I got injured in the Asian Cup in the first game, which I never expected,” said Ki, signed on a free transfer last summer following his release from Swansea City.

“It was very disappointing, but this is life. In football, you can have injuries, and sometimes you have to wait for your chance to play.

“This is football life. I just waited, recovered well and tried to be in the team. I worked as hard as I could on the training ground.

“I’m very pleased that we won and hopefully myself and the team will be better and better.

“Even though we conceded two goals, we never gave up, and we scored three goals in the second half. It was not easy to do it.

“Everyone was very pleased. We just keep going for the next game against Bournemouth.”