‘The way you fought’: Newcastle United star’s wife opens up after his ‘toughest’ struggle

Emil Krafth made his Newcastle United comeback last night against Manchester United, helping his team to a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford.

The Swedish footballer hadn’t played a match of any kind in 13 months after he sustained a serious knee injury in a second round Carabao Cup tie atTranmere Rovers last August.

And now his wife, Lina Krafth, has opened up about her husband’s struggle to get back to match fitness.

The defender posted to social media thanking Newcastle fans for their support. “400 something days later, incredible feeling to be back again,’ Krafth said. ‘What a performance from the team! Thanks for all the travelling fans!”

Krafth’s post was met with a lot of love, notably from former United player Allan Saint Maximin who replied: “What a guy.” Co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi also commented, saying “So well deserved. All thanks to your hard work and dedication.”

And now Lina Krafth has shared the post to her social media, enlightening fans further about her husband’s journey.

The mother of two reshared the right-back’s post with the heartfelt message: “FINALLY!!! The way you fought.”

Lina also went on to say “Impressed and proud of you,” alongside a flurry of red hearts.

Before returning to the senior squad, Krafth featured a couple of times for United’s under 21s. Ahead of his first performance in September, the 29-year-old told the matchday programme, “Sometimes it’s tough, you know, just coming here every day. For months you do the same work all the time. I think, for me, the first five months was the toughest because you are only in the gym all the time. It felt like I went into a bunker or something when the lads go out onto the pitch - I could never see training because when they went out, I went to the gym, and you just spend so much time at the training ground.

“You go home, you’re exhausted, you go home and sleep... wake up the next day and do the hard work again, for such a long time. I mean like, sometimes the glass just, how do you say, over the top? And you just lose your momentum sometimes. But I think this is normal. I think that’s why I haven’t been there all the time - I’ve been back to Sweden for a couple of weeks, for example, to get some more motivation, change the environment, see some other people.

“But since I’ve been out on the grass, I’ve been here all the time. When you’re out for that long a time, you need a bit of a switch-off for your mental health and everything. It’s been a long road, to be fair. I’ve had my ups and downs during the rehabilitation but now I’ve been back on the pitch for quite a long time - a couple of months - and for the last four weeks or so I’ve been with the team, which is a really good feeling.

“That’s your target from day one - to be back with the team and start training and play game. Of course, I have a little bit more until I’m fit enough to play a game but that’s going to come. I’ve trained really hard out there with the team. I’m probably going to play a game for the under-21s, just to get some game time and get fit, but overall it feels really good to be back.”