The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
YOUNG STAR
Anderson ‘buzzing’ to be back at play
AFTER not playing for four months due to a hip injury, Elliot Anderson revealed he was ‘buzzing’ as he scored on his full return to action for Newcastle United’s Under-23 side.
The 18-year-old has been widely tipped as one of the club’s best youngsters and has already made two first-team appearances.
Both of those came against Arsenal, in the FA Cup and then in the Premier League at the beginning of the year.
Although, Anderson is yet to make his full debut for the Magpies as those appearances saw him introduced from the bench but he will certainly be hoping to grab Steve Bruce’s attention.
The England U19 international looked set for a loan move during the summer but a frustrating hip injury limited his chance of a temporary departure.
He completed his first 90 minutes of the season on Monday night but, despite putting the young Magpies in front from the penalty spot, they lost 3-2 to Stoke City.
Anderson was not happy with the result of the match but, on a personal level, was delighted to be back out on the pitch.
“It felt good,” he told NUFC TV. “I haven’t played a game for about four months so it was good to be back out there running around and trying to help the team.
“It’s good for my confidence really, playing my first 90 [minutes] and pushing on, getting my fitness levels back to where they were.
“I was quite nervous to be honest, I haven’t taken a penalty in a while but luckily I put it away, I was buzzing.”
The timing of Anderson’s injury was extremely unfortunate as he was becoming a regular in Bruce’s matchday squads in the second half of last season.
Had it not been for the club being embroiled in a relegation battle at the back end of the campaign, it is likely he would have benefitted from more first-team involvement.
When asked about his injury, he said: “I was gutted. It couldn’t have come at a worse time but it is what it is so I’ve just got to keep working and keep trying to break through.
“I’d seen a specialist about it and we do know what it is but it’s just confusing. I didn’t really want to go down the operation route so just had to try and manage it and see how it went, luckily it’s been OK so far.”
Bruce was in attendance at the Northumberland FA’S headquarters as the U23s were beaten by Stoke on Monday night and Anderson was keen to show the first-team boss that he hasn’t lost the spark that earned him a place in the squad last term.
“I just tried to impress like I used to and just tried to refresh his [Bruce’s] memory of what I can do and hopefully I can start improving as I’m playing more,” said the youngster.
Considering Callum Wilson’s ongoing injury, if Anderson can get up to speed quickly for the U23s, it may not be long before he finds himself back amongst the first-team squad this season.