Newcastle United's unsung hero who almost missed Leicester City win

The influential England international being sidelined for months seemed likely to put a dent in The Magpies’ survival hopes.

But through adversity comes opportunity, and that is exactly what has happened with Emil Krafth.

The Swedish international had started just two Premier League matches under Eddie Howe prior to Trippier’s injury.

And after a shaky return to the side against West Ham United, Krafth has slowly but surely started to grasp his opportunity and prove his worth to the side.

A solid display and clean sheet against Wolverhampton Wanderers has been backed up by arguably his finest outing of the season against Leicester City on Easter Sunday.

While Bruno Guimaraes stole the headlines with his brace and last-minute winner at St James’s Park, Krafth steadily went about his business and hardly put a foot wrong over the course of the afternoon as United moved 12 points clear of the relegation zone.

The 27-year-old made more recoveries (10) and tackles (7) than any other player in the match, including a crucial last-man challenge to prevent Lookman giving Leicester the lead in the second half.

It was arguably the most complete defensive display we have seen from Krafth in a Newcastle shirt as he managed to shine through in a match that was dominated by the aforementioned Brazilian midfielder.

What makes the performance even more impressive is that Krafth was in fact a doubt to even feature in the game having missed training through the week due to illness.

And head coach Eddie Howe was quick to praise the right-back’s performance after the game as he said: “Very, very good.

"Emil was one of the players who I spoke about in the press conference saying he was struggling with an illness, so he didn't train much last week. He deserves credit for putting himself out on the pitch.

“He cramped at the end, due to the fact that nutritionally he was slightly down. What a performance from him, especially against a fresh Harvey Barnes coming on the pitch.“I have been hugely impressed with Emil as a person and a player – he deserves a lot of credit.”

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