Fabian Schar is ready to put nightmare six months behind him after signing new deal

Fabian Schar missed half of last season after picking up an injury in January, but was still given a contract extension by the club before his deal expired in the summer.

Eddie Howe is a huge fan of Fabian Schar, and one of the first things he did as Newcastle United manager was to bring the former Swiss international back in from the cold after being overlooked by Steve Bruce.

Schar has been a huge part of Newcastle's success under Howe, but last season is one he'd rather forget after spending so much time on the sidelines with injury and then picking up an infection after having surgery.

The 34-year-old was still handed a new contract extension by the club despite these issues and despite Ross Wilson's aim to reduce the average age of the squad.

Fabian Schar is 'ready to go'

Speaking to the official website after returning to training this week, Fabian Schar has spoken about how the last six months were the hardest of his career, but he's ready to come back stronger for the new campaign.

"It's been a difficult time after my injury and what happened with my foot. I was glad I could really focus on coming back and knowing what's going to happen this year, being ready for day one.

"The last six months after my injury were the hardest of my career. I had to go through a lot and it was hard so I'm feeling a lot better now.There was unfinished business. I had a big setback with surgery which wasn't planned. I was close to coming back earlier and then had an infection which was tough. I felt gutted for it to end like that but I feel I am still able to add something to the team.

"I worked really hard and I'm ready to go. Hopefully, I can try to enjoy this next season.

"I'm going to need some time to adapt after being out for such a long period but I feel confident in my body and myself. I'm going to use this pre-season to come back as strongly as possible."

Fabian Schar will be given a reduced role

Schar had previously spoken about wanting to end his career at Newcastle, so it's no surprise that he signed a new deal when it was offered.

Hopefully that six-month layoff won't have affected him too much, and he'll still be able to keep up with the pace of the Premier League.

We do expect, however, that he's more likely to be riding the bench this season with Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman being the preferred starting centre-back pairing.