‘Will play’: Howe confirms £5m player will make his first appearance in more than a year tonight

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Eddie Howe has just provided a very exciting update on the fitness of Newcastle United defender Emil Krafth.

The 29-year-old has not played for more than a year, having sustained an injury during Newcastle‘s run to the Carabao Cup final last season.

Krafth started at right-back when Newcastle faced Tranmere Rovers on August 24th 2022. However, he did not finish the game.

The Sweden international was stretchered off during the first half after being on the end of a heavy challenge. It looked very concerning for Krafth, and it later emerged that he had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

ACLs notoriously take a long time to recover from, with Krafth only recently returning to full first-team training.

It has been a long road to recovery for Krafth, but he is now finally set to play in a match once again.

Howe says Emil Krafth will play for Newcastle Under-21s tonight

Ahead of Newcastle’s Premier League game against Burnley, Howe spoke to the media. He provided an update on Krafth’s fitness, and dropped some extra team news ahead of the Under-21s game against Nottingham Forest tonight.

“Emil will play for the Under-21s tonight,” he said.

“It’s really, really good to see him come back and hopefully do well today.”

Huge moment for Krafth after losing more than a year of his career

This is another giant step for Krafth, as he continues his journey back to the first-team.

It was so devastating to lose him last season, especially after it came so soon after his best ever run in a Toon shirt.

The £5million man should soon be available for selection again, but the landscape is suddenly very different.

Krafth is no longer going to be Kieran Trippier’s immediate backup. He will be challenging Tino Livramento for that role, and he excelled on his first Toon start on Wednesday night.

Livramento’s presence will make it difficult for Krafth to get senior minutes at Newcastle, but his main objective right now is getting back on the pitch and fully getting over an injury that has kept him out of action for more than a year.