Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew hopes Haris Vuckic is over his injury problems.

Pardew is hoping that the 20-year-old, once a target for Manchester United and AC Milan, can start to challenge for a regular first team place, if he can put his injury misery behind him.

"The club has spoken about his potential before I got here but Haris has been so unlucky," his manager said. "In the 45 minutes he played on Tuesday night, he couldn't have shown more quality than he did.

"He has got to produce the energy and power the Premier League demands. If he can do that, we are going to have a player on our hands.

"In the three years I have been at Newcastle. I've never really had the chance to play him. When he has been fit, I think he's just been beneath the best team. He's had a good start."