Newcastle United man receives major fitness boost by returning to training after long layoff

Newcastle United right-back Emil Krafth has returned to training after spending just over a year on the sidelines.

The Sweden international hasn’t played since August 2022 when he sustained an ACL injury in a Carabao Cup second round tie at League Two side Tranmere Rovers. It was first anticipated that Krafth would return in time for pre-season but it’s turned out to be an even longer road back.

Magpies’ head coach Eddie Howe told NewcastleWorld prior to the 5-1 opening day Premier League win against Aston Villa that the 29-year-old was set to resume first-team in four to six weeks - taking him up to the international break.

“He’s doing well,” said Howe. “As you have with serious injuries like the one he’s had, you have good days, bad days. He’s had good spells and bad spells where he hasn’t felt so good but he’s slowly coming into a really good feeling in his body where he’s worked incredibly hard.

“Emil is a fantastic character who we’ve missed greatly both as a character and as a player. He’s not training with the team yet, he’s in very early stages with the sports science team so we’re probably looking at four-to-six weeks before he’s training with the team.”

And the good news is Krafth is nearing a return to playing after being pictured in training last week when Howe’s players were put through their paces with a rugby-inspired warm-up ahead of the Rugby World Cup opener between France and New Zealand

Although Krafth was left out of Newcastle’s 23-man Champions League squad, the former Amiens full-back is likely to get opportunities to play as the club competes in four different competitions - the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.