Siem de Jong is targeting Newcastle 's home clash with Swansea later this month for a return to senior action after an eight-month injury nightmare . The 26-year-old Holland international midfielder played 45 minutes for the club 's Under-21s team on Wednesday evening after competing his recovery from surgery to repair a collapsed lung . Head coach John Carver has hinted that De Jong could even make the 18 for Sunday 's Barclays Premier League fixture against Tottenham at St James ' Park , and while the Dutchman has not ruled that out , his sights are set the Swans ' visit to Tyneside on the following weekend . Newcastle playmaker Siem de Jong is hopeful of returning to the first-team before the end of the season . He told nufcTV : ' I do n't think I could play 90 minutes in the coming weeks , so it will be maybe as a substitute at the end of the game , but I do n't know if I will be on the bench ... We have n't discussed yet when I 'll be back . 'But I hope Swansea - I do n't know yet if Tottenham would be a good time , but I hope to be back on the bench against Swansea , depending on how it goes in the coming days and depending on how I feel tomorrow after today . 'We 'll see how it goes . I still have to get a little bit stronger , a little bit more explosive , a little faster , and hopefully I can work on that in the coming days . ' De Jong , a £6million summer signing from Ajax , has made just three senior appearances for the club , the last of them in a 3-3 home draw with Crystal Palace on August 30 last year - his only league start to date . The summer signing has been plagued by injuries since arriving from Ajax but is close to full fitness . Injury hit when he badly tore a thigh muscle in training days later and was sidelined until February , when disaster struck once again as he suffered a collapsed lung for the second time in his career . He took the first tentative steps towards a first-team return at St James ' Park on Wednesday evening , and while he knows there is more hard work to be done , he is glad to be back and already looking towards the start of next season . De Jong said : ' I have n't repaid the fans a lot this season , so I hope to be playing a couple of games , maybe , at the end of the season . 'But I have to focus on next season and be really fit then and hopefully I can show the fans what I can do , and show myself and show my team-mates what I can do . ' John Carver will be looking to put Newcastle 's dreadful run to an end having lost their last five matches .
Siem de Jong signed for Newcastle last summer from Dutch giants Ajax . De Jong has been plagued by injuries , playing just three senior games . The 6million signing is ready to return to the Newcastle first-team . Newcastle are on a five-match losing run in the Premier League .