Newcastle United forward Dwight Gayle may have had to wait until December for his first appearance of the 2020/21 season but he picked up exactly where he left off at the end of last season.
Gayle was in red-hot form when the 2019/20 season resumed after the coronavirus lockdown, scoring five goals in 10 Premier League appearances.
Frustratingly, an injury picked up in pre-season curtailed his progress and had ruled him out of action until Saturday's 2-1 win over West Brom.
Despite his fitness struggles, Gayle showed he hadn't lost any of his goalscoring momentum, as his bullet header from a delightful Jacob Murphy cross secured a vital win over his former side.
Since the Premier League resumed after lockdown back in June, the Newcastle forward is averaging a goal every 98.2 minutes which is better than the likes of Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Mo Salah and Dominic Calvert-Lewin during the same period.
Although Gayle had to frustratingly watch on during his side's first 10 Premier League games of the season, he is hopeful he can now make up for lost time between now and the end of the season.
"It was a frustrating point in my career because I felt like I was just getting a hold of it and just starting to get fit," Gayle told NUFC TV.
"It was a bit of a downer but we have another six months of the season to go and hopefully I can score more goals for the team."
The 30-year-old is currently out of contract at the end of the season but he is hopeful of striking up a productive partnership with top scorer Callum Wilson to earn himself a new deal.
"In training we have been enjoying it," Gayle said of playing with Wilson.
"We have just been trying to work on him passing it to me but we have got the first bit at the moment.
"He is a great striker and you can see what he has brought to the team."
