Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu says he had been the cause of his injury setbacks over the past few seasons.

The Ghanaian was bedeviled by injuries during a loan stint at Premier League side Everton in 2014/15, making only five topflight appearances.

The 24-year-old then headed to then newly-promoted outfit Bournemouth, and after failing to make a single league outing over half-a-season, he joined Spanish side Malaga in January, netting twice in 12 La Liga games.

"At Bournemouth, I had a lot of injuries that brought me setbacks in my football career," Atsu told his club's official website.

"I left in January to Malaga, and when I went there, I had another injury.

"It was so frustrating, but I thought: 'I need to take good care of myself'. I saw that I have to be responsible for these kinds of things. So I tried to change how I eat, my sleep and everything.

"I think I'm more professional and more focused on my body than before. Every time, when there is a problem, you try to figure out where it is coming from.

"I found out that sometimes it's me, and I need to take good care of myself because it's my body. My sleep, my diet, everything - I tried to change everything, and I think I'm getting better."

Having joined Newcastle on yet another loan this season from parent club Chelsea, Atsu has made seven appearances in the Championship, scoring once.

He also played for Portuguese sides Porto and Rio Ave before joining Chelsea, who immediately shipped him out on loan to Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem in 2013.