PAUL DUMMETT is determined to shake off his “injury-prone” tag as he looks to claim a place in Chris Coleman’s Wales squad for next summer’s European Championships in France.

The Newcastle United full-back is currently on international duty ahead of Friday’s friendly with Holland, having been called up by Coleman despite missing the vast majority of Wales’ successful qualifying campaign.

Having missed almost five months of last season with a knee injury, Dummett suffered a niggling hamstring problem that forced him out of this summer’s pre-season programme.

He returned to action in last month’s 6-2 win over Norwich City, and has gone on to make three more appearances as Newcastle have hauled themselves out of the Premier League’s bottom three.

Having initially broken into the senior ranks at the start of the 2013-14 season, Dummett’s career to date has been a stop-start affair, and with his injury worries finally behind him, the 24-year-old is determined to start altering his reputation.

“It’s been a tough spell,” said Dummett, who has replaced Massadio Haidara from Newcastle’s starting line-up at the start of the season. “I was out injured for five months, and for a while, it just felt like it was one thing after another.

“I injured my knee last season, then just as I was getting back, I injured my hamstring. There was a recurrence of that as well, so all in all, it wasn’t nice.

“It’s not a nice feeling when you’re known as being injury-prone, and that’s definitely something I want to put right. I know people have been saying things like that, so I need to prove that I’m over all of that now.

“I need to sustain a number of games in a row because that’s the only way to change perceptions. If I do that, hopefully I can help this team win games.”

A sustained run in the first team could have a double benefit for Dummett, as it would also enhance his chances of being involved in Wales’ first appearance at a major championships since the 1958 World Cup.

The Geordie defender qualifies for Wales via his grandfather, and made his international debut in another friendly with Holland last summer. That brief substitute appearance remains his only involvement with the Welsh senior team, but he will hope to double his tally of caps at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday night.

He is battling with the likes of Neil Taylor, Ben Davies and Chris Gunter for a place in next summer’s tournament squad, and is understandably keen to do whatever he can to ensure he earns a place on the plane to France.

“It’s a great time to be part of the Wales squad,” he said. “It’s nice to be going away on the back of a win for Newcastle – that’s the most important thing for me – and it means I can really enjoy my time away with Wales.

“As long as I’m playing well for Newcastle, and winning games, there’s no reason why I can’t keep getting picked for Wales – that’s got to be my attitude for the rest of the season.

“Hopefully, I can get into the squad for the Euros, although it’s going to be tough. There are a lot of good players in that squad, and it’s going to be a real battle to get a place in France.

“There’s massive competition, and I haven’t really played any games through the qualifiers. I’ve only been involved in one of the matches, so it’s up to me to try to push the players who have been playing all the way. Having that kind of competition can only be a good thing for Wales going into a major championships.”

Dummett linked up with the Wales squad a matter of hours after he had helped Newcastle claim their first away win of the season last weekend.

The Magpies’ victory over Bournemouth might have been fortuitous, with their opponents dominating possession and carving out a succession of clear-cut chances, only to be denied by an inspired Rob Elliot, but Newcastle’s collective spirit and resolve augured well for the challenges that lie ahead.

“It was a massive win against a team that’s near us in the league,” said Dummett. “We might be fighting with them for a while because, at the minute, we’re both near the bottom, so it was important we made a mark and beat them.

“We didn’t really play as we would have liked to with the ball, but we battled and showed the other side of the game that we have. We battled well enough to win the game 1-0, and to get another clean sheet for us as defenders was a massive bonus.”