JOHN Carver claims Siem de Jong’s return to training has given the Newcastle United dressing room a huge lift, but the caretaker boss admits the attacking midfielder will have to be eased back into action.

De Jong returned to training last week after four-and-a-half months on the sidelines with a torn thigh muscle and he was part of the Magpies squad that travelled to Dubai for a training camp on Sunday.

The 25-year-old signed from Ajax in a deal worth around £6m, but he made just three appearances before suffering the injury in training in September.

De Jong is to step up his training during Newcastle’s warm-weather training camp this week and Carver has revealed having him back has provided a welcome boost.

“He had his first training session on Thursday, but we had to go indoors because of the weather,'' said Carver. “He joined in with us and having him, Mehdi Abeid and Sammy Ameobi fit again just adds to the group.

“He seems a huge character, he’s a good talker who pops in every morning for a chat. He’s one of the big characters in the dressing-room, but we need him fully fit.”

With no fixture this weekend due to their early exit from the FA Cup, the Magpies aren’t back in competitive action until the trip to Hull City on January 31.

It remains to be seen whether de Jong will be fit to take his place in the squad for the match at the KC Stadium and Carver admits the former Ajax captain will have to prove his fitness in a couple of Under-21s games before he should be considered for a first team return.

He said: “I think he’s got to have two, maybe three Under-21 games and then maybe 45 minutes, 70 and then a full game. He’s still a little bit off at the moment.”

The Magpies have been criticised for flying to Dubai to train this week having not won a game since December 28, but midfielder Jack Colback insists the squad is working just as hard as it would be if they were back on Tyneside.

"We always have a tough session on a Tuesday and we trained hard here, then we'll be in the gym on the afternoon,'' he said. “It's hard work but the players knew it would be and it was a good session.

“Obviously, it's warmer than it is back home but we had a good session and it was nice to get that under our belt.

“I think it'll help us when we come back. Training in warmer weather is like pre-season - it's always more difficult - so when we come back it should feel a bit easier when we're training.

“We do gym work and everyone's got their own individual stuff that they do. We do it as a group and then people do it on their own as well if they want to do a bit extra.

“The gym work will be quite heavy - we'll do a lot of leg weights and stuff, and that's important in today's game because you've got to be quick and powerful.”

And Colback says thoughts have already turned to the trip to Hull even though a new manager is yet to be appointed.

He said: "We're training like would be back home with the focus on Hull. It's going to be a big game for us, one that we need to try and win.

“We want to get back to winning ways and set up the rest of the season on a positive note.

“Once you get Christmas out of the way, the games go back to one a week and when you miss a Saturday, it feels like a long two weeks without playing.

“We want to be in the cup still - we wish we were playing this weekend - but that wasn't to be so you've got to try and make the most of it and make the most of the two weeks by preparing well for the Hull game.”