Krul pleased with recovery

Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul is confident he will have recovered from a shoulder injury in time for the club’s season opener.

The Netherlands international has been sidelined since April after dislocating his shoulder during the club’s 3-0 defeat to Sunderland.

He made his return during Newcastle’s 1-1 pre-season draw with Rangers on Tuesday, featuring for 45 minutes before being replaced by Rob Elliot.

The 25-year-old is set to continue his comeback against Braga at St James’ Park on Saturday and is optimistic he will be ready for Newcastle’s trip to Manchester City on August 19.

“The mental side of the injury is now out of my mind,” Krul told The Hartlepool Mail.

“I’ve had a great couple of weeks training with all the lads. It has been all about getting the confidence of making a few good saves again.

“You can train when you’ve been injured, but the best test is always to get back out there and train again. I’ve just been focusing on the game and making saves.

“I’ve been training hard to get back in time. I’ve done two weeks back here, and obviously went into that on the back of some hard work in Portugal.

“I was working one on one with the physios in Portugal, so I was in good condition.”