Newcastle United confirm the player that is expected to miss the rest of the season

Newcastle United right-back Emil Krafth is recovering well from a serious knee injury - but isn’t expected to return before the end of the Premier League campaign.

The Swede has been sidelined since August after sustaining an ACL injury in the 2-1 Carabao Cup second round victory at Tranmere Rovers.

During the early stages of his recovery, Krafth returned to his homeland before travelling with his teammates for the mid-season trip to Saudi Arabia in December.

The 28-year-old then visited Dubai with Eddie Howe’s squad last month and has been back at the club’s Benton training base completing the final stages of his rehabilitation.

Despite his positive progress, Krafth is unlikely to return to action until next season.

“He’s doing well. It was a nasty injury,” said head coach Howe. “It was a big blow for us, and still is a big blow. We feel his gap within the squad. But he’s doing really well. He’s on the grass, he’s now moving a lot more fluently.

“Speaking to him, he’s confident about his recovery. I’m not sure we’ll see him in the squad before the end of the season, I think we’re looking more towards next year, but we hope we can implement him back into training very lightly towards the end of the season.”

Krafth’s form at the end of last season, where he deputised for the injured Kieran Trippier, earned him a two-year contract in the summer. The full-back made just one appearance before his injury devastation.

Speaking last month Krafth told nufc.co.uk: “Of course, it has been up and down. It was really hard at the beginning to accept that you were going to be out for such a long time. As soon as it happened, I was devastated for a few days and I didn’t know where to go.

“An injury is never great timing but, for me, I was playing a lot from January until the summer. The team were doing really well and I’d say it was the best form of my career so far. I felt I had a good pre-season and had also extended my contract with the club.”

“It was my first big injury so I didn’t know how to handle it,” he said. “It was a long time waiting for surgery and I just wanted to have it done so that was a long two weeks, waiting for the swelling to go down on my knee and settling it before having surgery.

“As a player, you always want to be involved in the games so that’s hard. It was hard at the start but, now, you kind of accept it a little bit more that you’ll be out for a while.

“I can’t wait to get back in the team. That’s the biggest target. I’m not setting a specific date when I’ll be back but I’m determined to get back and fight for my place again.”

Get the latest Newcastle United headlines with our free football newsletter! Follow the action from St James’ Park and beyond as we bring the sport news to you. Visit our website here to sign up.