Matt Ritchie continued his recovery from an ankle operation by featuring against Rochdale in the FA Cup on Tuesday night.

The Scotland international has been restricted to just six appearances for Newcastle United during the 2019/20 campaign due to his injury problems.

Having been on the bench against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend, he was named in the starting XI as the Magpies booked their spot in the fourth round of the cup.

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Ritchie provided an assist in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Rochdale, and it would be fair to say that a lot of the club's fans were impressed with his performance.

And a number of the supporters are delighted that Ritchie is now available for selection.

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The Scot has a record of 22 goals and 26 assists in 131 appearances for the Magpies and could now be in line to start Saturday's Premier League clash with Chelsea.

Indeed, after the FA Cup win many fans expressed their general admiration for Ritchie...

Ritchie has missed a lot of football this season, but the fact that he has undergone two operations since August and is back on the field at the start of 2020 is impressive.

Bruce will surely be keen to take it easy when it comes to the versatile 5 foot 8 veteran, although it would not be a surprise to see him feature in the XI against Frank Lampard's Chelsea on Saturday.

Meanwhile, another player at St James' Park is currently being strongly linked with a move to Serie A during the current transfer window.