Newcastle's Siem de Jong close to return after 8 months out

Siem de Jong is approaching a return to Newcastle after almost a year on the sidelines with various injuries.

The Dutch midfielder captained the team's under-21 team Wednesday following eight months out with a torn thigh muscle and collapsed lung.

While the midfielder is eager to get back on the pitch, he remains cautious in his efforts to maintain fitness and likely won't be able to play during Newcastle's next Premier League fixture with Tottenham.

"I don't think I could play 90 minutes in the coming weeks, so it will be maybe as a substitute at the end of the game, but I don't know if I will be on the bench. We haven't discussed yet when I'll be back," De Jong revealed to the team's website.

"But I hope Swansea. I don't know yet if Tottenham would be a good time, but I hope to be back on the bench against Swansea, depending on how it goes in the coming days and depending on how I feel tomorrow after today.

"I haven't repaid the fans a lot this season, so I hope to be playing a couple of games, maybe, at the end of the season."

The former Ajax midfielder was close to a return in February following six months out with the thigh injury, but missed a further eight weeks when he suffered a collapsed lung.