Rob Elliot has admitted that the club's doctor did not think he would be able to play in Newcastle United's win over Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The goalkeeper has been hampered by the recurrence of a thigh injury that forced him to miss time last season, but he played through the injury in the 1-0 win at Dean Court, keeping a clean sheet despite the home side having 20 shots, five of which were on target.
"If you ask the manager I was always playing. If you ask the doctor then I probably wasn't playing last week either," the Newcastle Chronicle quotes the 29-year-old as saying.
"I was always going to play and I didn't know how good or bad it was going to be. It wasn't too bad today, it was quite painful and I just had to get underneath the ball and lift it, you just don't want to let the team down.
"I said to the manager, if you want me to play I will play, but just so long as I'm not going to hinder the team."
Elliot has been the first-choice keeper for Newcastle since Tim Krul was ruled out for the season with a knee injury early in the campaign.
Sian Cowper
