"?Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot is close to a return after his agonising cruciate
ligament damage sustained while fulfilling a childhood dream: playing international football.
But now the light at the end of the tunnel is approaching faster than the HS2 will when the project finally gets underway.
In a way, this is bad news for Matz Sels and Karl Darlow - the two 'keepers who have been battling for the number one jersey all season. Rafa Benitez has changed him mind over who should start more than Donald Trump trying to come up with policy and now there has been another ingredient added to the mix.
If Elliot had not sustained that ACL damage, there is a good chance he would have been the first choice stopper under Benitez this season and Darlow would be struggling to get a look in. However, the former Nottingham Forest man's level of performances after stepping in merited a run of games this season.
Things have been tough for the Republic of Ireland man, who was awarded the man of the match 14 times out of 22 appearances last season and was crowned the club's player of the season.
Understandably, Elliot can't wait to get back out on the pitch - and doesn't even want to hang about getting minutes under his belt with the reserves first.
"If I am ready to play, I'm ready to play, whether it's in the reserves or not," the "?Chronicle reported that he said.
"It's unknown territory for me really as I have never had a serious injury or serious operation before."
The ex-Charlton Athletic man's route back to the first team will definitely be helped by the fact that Belgian stopper Matz Sels has had a tricky introduction to life in the English game.
If he had hit the ground running and produced a number of outstanding performances this debate wouldn't be happening - but the fact that Newcastle awarded Elliot a new contract while he was injured shows how highly they rate him.
Just as there is a battle up front to earn that one starting role, a similar thing is happening at the other end of the pitch. Keep your eyes peeled because it's going to be a fascinating next few weeks.
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