Daryl Murphy impressed the Newcastle United faithful when he netted for his club's under-23 side yesterday. The forward will be hoping to build on this in the coming weeks.
When it came to his Newcastle United debut, he was unable to strike gold against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Cup.
Recovered fully
Immediately after the Republic of Ireland's first appearance, he was struck with a calf injury that set him back and out of the game for a number of months.
Murphy is now fit, telling The Chronicle "I have been ready for the last week. I have trained with the lads, I just needed a few minutes under my belt to get rid of a few of the cobwebs."
In addition to training with the first team, The ROI International featured in Newcastle's U-23 1-1 alongside Massadio Haidara and Achraf Lazaar. Among the 123 spectators, boss Rafa Benitez was watching the development side. The striker impressed. Heading home United's only goal from Haidara's cross.
Upon reflection of the game Murphy said "I think the main thing was to get some game-time. I needed that, I haven’t played for quite a while but the goal was a little bonus.”
The goal was his statement of intent. The former Ipswich Town player is ready to play his part in Newcastle's promotion hopes.
Getting into the first team
However, it will not be an easy feat to break into the first team with the current form of Dwight Gayle, who is Championship top goal scorer, and fan favourite Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Despite a rocky start to his Newcastle United career, Murphy remains positive “It’s been very frustrating because when I signed here I was fully fit and ready. I played one game and then picked up an injury literally the next day,
He added, “It has been very frustrating for me sitting in the stands and watching the lads do well. You want to be involved and help the team,
But I’m on the comeback now so hopefully I can stay injury free.”