Fabricio Coloccini believes the international break could be of benefit to Newcastle United, as they look to get some of their injured players back to fitness.
The Magpies started the season with an impressive 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at St James Park, but then suffered defeat at Chelsea before having to settle for a share of the spoils when they were held by Aston Villa on Sunday.
Due to the international break, it will now be two weeks before United can get back to winning ways. Coloccini, though, believes this could work to their advantage as it allows some of their senior players more time to recover from injury before their next fixture.
“The squad is stretched because we now have Danny Simpson injured, as well as Shola Ameobi, Ryan Taylor, James Perch and Cheick Tiote,” he told the official club website. “These two weeks are going to hopefully be good for some of the players to come back.”
A trip to Goodison Park on Monday 17 September awaits Newcastle when the Premier League resumes, which is the scene of their final match of last season when they lost 3-1 to Everton. And after dropping two points at home to Villa, Coloccini knows he and his team-mates must show a marked improvement in the coming months.
“We have to improve,” added the Argentine. “If we want to have as good a season as last year then we have to get much better. We have got some tough games and months ahead of us and it is important that we get back to where we know we can be.”
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