he was back in light training by the end of september and was on the bench for newcastle's 1–1 draw with chelsea on 28 november, but did not make an appearance. he made his comeback in newcastle's 1–0 victory against wigan athletic on 2 january 2011, appearing as a late substitute for shola ameobi. best made his first premier league start for newcastle in a home 5–0 win against west ham united on 5 january 2011, scoring a hat-trick in the process, his first league goals for the club. he was injured prior to the stoke away game on 19 march and was ruled out until the end of the season. however, best had scored six goals in 10 starts.