Newport striker, Seb Palmer-Houlden returned from injury last Tuesday as he made an appearance in our Bristol Street Motors clash with Bristol Rovers.
Bristol City loanee, Palmer-Houlden went down injured when the Exiles hosted Brentford in Round Two of the Carabao Cup back in late August. Despite being sidelined for the past three months, Seb has made his presence felt, attending matches at Rodney Parade, interacting with supporters and ensuring he's still a member of the Newport squad.
Injuries never come at a ‘good’ time for any player, but particularly in Palmer-Houlden’s case when his injury arrived at a time when he’d hit a successful run of form, scoring two goals and assisting one in his previous five games before suffering a serious hamstring injury which would see him ruled out for up to three months.
Despite Seb being naturally disappointed with the news he was determined to come back a stronger and fitter player than he had ever been prior to his injury: “It’s been very hard being away from football,” he began. “It’s tough when you know you’re close to returning [to full-fitness] but all you can do is watch game after game, chomping at the bit to get back on the grass.
“Despite that, I knew that me being away has given me a chance to reset my body and make myself stronger, faster and fitter than ever before.”
Being out injured for the past couple of months has presented its challenges for the young striker but he was focussed on making his long-awaited return to the Rodney Parade pitch. That return came when the Exiles hosted Bristol Rovers in the Bristol Street Motor’s trophy earlier this month, Palmer-Houlden was substituted on for James Waite in the 66th minute, entering the pitch to a standing ovation from the Amber Army.
Palmer-Houlden was thrilled to be back playing in amber: “Being back is the best feeling ever,” the Striker explained.
“Being back around the boys and getting to run out onto that pitch and play in front of our crowd is every young boys dream, it really is the one of the best feelings ever!”
After making appearances for the Exiles against Bristol Rovers and Mansfield last weekend, Seb will firmly have his attentions set on Stockport’s arrival to Rodney Parade (Saturday November 25) hoping to feature yet again and find a regular spot in Coughlan's starting 11: “The game this Saturday will be a big challenge, but all of the boys have the tools and work ethic to get a positive result from the game,” confirmed the forward. “We [players] work tirelessly on the training ground, day in, day out to ensure we are able to put in the best performance possible on Saturday.”
Despite aiming to return to his rich vein of goalscoring form, Palmer-Houlden is more focussed on seeing results as a team in the first instance: “The most important thing is picking up three points on Saturday's and Tuesday's games.
“Whoever the scorer is, we win as a team and lose as a team, no individual is more important that this club.”
You can secure your tickets to watch Newport face League Two’s table-toppers Stockport County this coming weekend by clicking HERE.