THIS was supposed to be a breakthrough season for Elliot Anderson. After knocking on the door of the first team in the previous campaign, making three Premier League starts and 19 substitute appearances as Newcastle United finished in the top four, the Whitley Bay-born midfielder was ready to take the next step forward in his career.

He was turning 21, and had a series of impressive pre-season performances under his belt. With Newcastle competing on a number of different fronts, both at home and in Europe, opportunities to break into Eddie Howe’s senior side seemed assured. What could possibly go wrong?

Injury, that’s what. Like so many of his team-mates, Anderson has suffered a badly-disrupted campaign, with a stress fracture in his lower back sidelining him from the middle of October to the end of February. Saturday’s start in the 5-1 thrashing of Sheffield United was his eighth in the league this term, so the season has hardly been a write-off. As he reflects on the ups and downs of the last 12 months, though, Anderson admits he finds it hard not to wonder about what might have been.

“I really thought this was going to be the season to sort of get in the team,” said the youngster, who initially joined Newcastle’s academy set-up at the age of eight, having been spotted playing for the fabled Wallsend Boys’ Club. “I felt really good, I’d worked really hard and I’d put everything into it.

“To have an injury like that as well – a really unlucky one – made it even worse. I always think to myself, ‘What position would I be in now if I didn’t get injured?’ But I think I need to put that to the back of my mind and just do it all again, which I believe I can.”

Anderson’s injury was especially galling given that it came on without any warning. One morning, the midfielder found himself struggling to get out of bed, such was the pain in his back. Scans revealed a fracture, and after an initial six-week period of rehabilitation, a second set of scans showed that the problem had not been resolved, effectively putting him back to square one. It was a difficult period.

“I struggled, to be fair,” admitted Anderson, in an interview with United, Newcastle’s matchday magazine. “I wouldn’t say I dealt with it amazingly. Every day, when I’d go to bed, I’d be counting another day off to the six-week scan. When I got that news about it being another six weeks, for the first few days I struggled. But then I managed to pick myself up and be ready for the next six weeks.

“It’s really tough seeing the lads going out to train, but I wanted to be in here (at the training ground). I didn’t really want too much time away. I had a hip injury a few years back and was out for a decent amount of time. I deal with it quite well, but in the moment, I start worrying and things like that. Once I’m back fit, I feel like I’m in a better place.”

Anderson returned to action at the end of February, and has been involved in all ten of Newcastle’s subsequent matches, with his aggressive, energetic style adding another dimension to the Magpies’ midfield mix.

The Northern Echo: Elliot Anderson holds off Ashley Young during Newcastle's recent draw with EvertonElliot Anderson holds off Ashley Young during Newcastle's recent draw with Everton (Image: PA)

His involvement in last week’s defeat at Crystal Palace was especially notable, as his appearance at Selhurst Park was his 50th in a Newcastle shirt, thrusting him into a select group of Geordies who have reached a half-century of matches for their hometown club.

“I didn’t really realise I was there,” he said. “I thought I was maybe 40. But it’s a really big thing. I was a bit shocked when I found out. I heard my mum saying something like there weren’t that many Geordies to have made 50-plus recently. It’s a big achievement.”

There is one more landmark Anderson would like to tick off his wish-list before the end of the campaign – his first senior goal.

He had an effort chalked off by VAR in last season’s 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest, and has subsequently come close to finding the net on a number of occasions. Throughout his youth career, the goals tended to flow freely as he burst into the box to meet crosses or fired in shots from the edge of the area.

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He has five more games in the current campaign in which to break his duck, and feels confident that once one goal arrives, more will quickly follow.

“I don’t want to get stressed about it and stuff,” he said. “It’s going to come. In training, it’s probably one of my best attributes, scoring goals, so I’m just waiting for it to happen because when the first one happens, I feel like they’ll come.

“I feel like the fans are just as desperate for me to score as myself, and I’m just hoping it’s at St James’. It’s something I want to add to my game, goals and assists, and I think they’ll come.”

Anderson is also confident that Newcastle will achieve their collective aim for the final month of the season, which is to secure a return to European competition. The Champions League might be off the agenda, but a place in either the Europa League or Conference League would still represent a decent return from such a challenging campaign.

“We’ve got a really good chance of getting Europe, and we could have a strong finish to the season,” he said. “I’m really happy – having that responsibility on your shoulders to try and help the team qualify for Europe is really exciting. It gives me a little buzz, really, and it’s probably more enjoyable than coming back and having a comfortable position. It’s the business time of the season. To be involved in these games is everything.”