Newcastle United’s Emil Krafth made his first appearance of the season when he came off the bench to replace Dan Burn in his side’s 3-3 draw against Manchester City at St James’ Park.
A few days later, Eddie Howe started the defender in the win over Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Cup. The 28-year-old was stretchered off the pitch and Eddie Howe confirmed the player has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Krafth has opened up about the incident and the long road ahead that lies of him before he returns to the pitch.
“It has been hard. It is always difficult to receive such a message, especially when the rehab period is so long. It’s never nice to get hurt and it’s never appropriate. It’s very difficult,” he told Fotbollskanalen.
“I’ve seen it in afterwards. It doesn’t look so strange. But when that happens, I hear a click in my knee. The first few minutes I turn in agony. When they carried me off, it let go a little bit. Then I think it’s an injury, but that it might not be that serious. I haven’t had an injury like this before, so I didn’t really know what to think.
“It was hard to wait for the result. Last Friday I got the results and it came as a shock. Even if you fear the worst, it is difficult to receive such a message. You had a slight feeling it might be serious because I heard that click.”
The Sweden international found out the extent of the injury on Friday, which was the day Newcastle announced the arrival of his compatriot, Alexander Isak, from Real Sociedad for a club-record fee.
“We had lunch at the facility last Friday. Then there was half an hour left until Isak was to be presented. At the same time, there was half an hour left before I got the message. It was very mixed feelings. But it’s nice that Isak is here and it will be nice to see him in Newcastle,” he explained.
The defender is hoping to make an appearance again for Newcastle before this season ends.
“They say that the rehab period is usually around six to nine months. If it’s six months, it’s sometime in March. I’m aiming to get back before this season is over,” Krafth added.
“Then it’s hard to say exactly because it’s the first time I’ve suffered an injury like this. You want to be 100% when you return to play. I hope to be back for the last two months of the season.”
