It has been an up and down few weeks for Anthony Gordon to say the least.
From the anguish of a sending off days before the Carabao Cup final, to enjoying the post-match celebrations as his team-mates triumphed in his absence. To then earning a well deserved England call-up for Thomas Tuchel's maiden squad before being forced off injured and ultimately sent back to Newcastle early. A range of emotions have been felt in recent days.
Gordon, thankfully, [isn't expected to be sidelined for an extended period after limping out of Wembley Stadium last week](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/anthony-gordon-injury-statement-released-31262027). The Newcastle winger therefore returns to Tyneside hoping to put a tricky spell behind him at club level.
Gordon will be full of ammunition and motivation to end the season on a high, while Eddie Howe will have drilled into his group that the celebrations post-Liverpool must be parked for the final 10 games of the campaign - with Champions League qualification the collective aim.
If Gordon can use the recent frustration to end the season on a high, as he did last term, United stand a good chance of achieving that goal. History suggests he will do just that.
An emotional - and rather nasty - exit from Everton spurred Gordon on to hit the ground running upon joining Newcastle. A public spat with Howe early in his Toon career was used as motivation to mature off the pitch. His recent dismissal against Brighton in the FA Cup [was followed up with hard work and determination on the training pitch](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/what-anthony-gordon-after-newcastle-31151229), despite the lingering reality that Gordon would miss the Carabao Cup final and two Premier League ties.
"He's very quickly come back to us, trained really well, you wouldn't know there's a disappointment there," Howe said of Gordon in the aftermath of his unfortunate red card. "Huge respect to him for that, and he's trying to help his teammates because now he knows his job is to train really well, be there as a support for his teammates and try and push us on to achieve something great in his absence."
In similar fashion to recent weeks, it has been a topsy turvy campaign for Gordon at St James' Park. He has ultimately kept Harvey Barnes out of the starting XI, has played in multiple positions - looking confident in each of them - and has more goals than any of his attacking counterparts, excluding Alexander Isak.
However, Gordon has not found the net in the Premier League since January 15th and won't be back in action until the trip to Leicester City on April 7, should he prove fit, as he sees out the rest of his suspension. That ban, and subsequent absence in the Carabao Cup final, has also proved tough to take in recent weeks.
But as well as an important period approaching for Newcastle, Gordon must also ensure he does enough on a personal level to impress new England boss Tuchel, who feels 'sad' for the attacker's recent struggle. A limited number of places are up for grabs in the German's Three Lions squad - with Gordon facing competition on the left of England's attack.
“He was so happy to play and get some minutes for us," Tuchel said. "He had a red card, then he got sick - he came a bit late into camp - and gets his minutes and gets straightaway injured.
"I’m sad for him but we cannot change it, and I think he still needs a couple of days rest, so he's with his family now to get the rest."
Newcastle have favourable fixtures between now and late May, only facing two sides currently above them in the table - Arsenal and Chelsea - before the season ends. Newcastle need one of their best and brightest talents firing at the business end of the campaign and will be confident recent knocks will spur their No 10 on to end the campaign on a high.