CALLUM WILSON is hoping his hamstring worries are well and truly behind him after he marked his return to action with Newcastle United’s opening goal in their 4-1 win at Fulham at the weekend.

Wilson was sidelined for more than a month after suffering hamstring damage in last month’s draw with Manchester City, with his injury record over the course of the last couple of years giving understandable cause for concern.

He spent the best part of a month building up his fitness levels before returning to training on the grass last week, and is happy with the state of his hamstrings as he targets an extended run in the team.

“I’ve been back properly for about a week now,” said Wilson, whose 11th-minute strike at Craven Cottage means he has scored three goals in four appearances this season. “I’ve got about a week under my belt, but it’s been a long process.

“I’ve been on the pitch running, and doing all the specific drills I’ve needed to do to get back for the last four weeks. I feel like I’ve put all the work in, and got myself to a place where I could have played 90 minutes.”

In the end, Wilson was on the field for just 66 minutes at the weekend before he was withdrawn and replaced by Ryan Fraser.

Given Newcastle were four goals ahead at the time, Eddie Howe’s decision to limit his leading scorer’s workload made perfect sense, although with the Magpies scoring goals seemingly at will, Wilson’s initial disappointment at being taken off was also understandable.

“The way the game panned out, you do become frustrated,” said the striker. “But I always respect the manager’s decision. We had a little laugh about it on the side.

“When you’re on the pitch, and you’re in the emotion of the game, you’re disappointed because you want to score goals and there’s more goals there, I should have had a hat-trick. But then when you sit and think logically about the decision, you respect it and understand the thinking behind it.”

Saturday’s win lifted Newcastle to seventh in the table, and while Wilson insists it is still to early to be fretting about league positions, he feels a return of 11 points from eight matches is a more realistic gauge of the Magpies’ performances this season.

“Our performances have been there, but results hadn’t come,” he said, in an interview with BBC Newcastle. “It’s about focusing on the performances though, because as this proved, if you get that right, then the results do come off the back of that.

“The league position is irrelevant at the moment, it’s still so early. It matters when we turn the year, and then you’re trying to get up the league and get as close to your targets as possible. It’s really just a game at a time until the World Cup break, and within that, you’ve got individuals like myself who have their own agendas and targets they want to hit too.”