Newcastle United Under-21s winger Johnny Emerson has issued a fresh update on his recovery from an ACL injury.
Johnny Emerson is back in light training with Newcastle United Under-21s, six months after ACL surgery.
The 20-year-old had surgery on his knee back in October which threatened to rule him out for the remainder of the season. ACL injuries are often given a six to 12-month recovery period, though this can differ depending on the individual and whether there are any setbacks in the rehabilitation process.
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Another NUFC ACL injury
Newcastle have had several ACL injuries at first-team level in recent seasons, with Sven Botman being ruled out for 10 months while Emil Krafth missed 14. Jamaal Lascelles suffered an ACL injury in March 2024 in what proved to be his last first-team start for Newcastle.
Emerson is yet to feature so far this season having missed the opening weeks of the campaign following a hernia operation in the summer.
But as he closed in on a return, the winger suffered a major blow with an ACL injury that has now sidelined him for six months.
As he closed in on a return to fitness, Emerson suffered a serious knee injury that has ruled him out for the past six months.
ACL injury update
Emerson broke the news of his ACL injury via his Instagram account as he posted an image of himself in a hospital bed along with the caption: “Heartbroken to have torn my ACL, but successful surgery and recovery starts now.”
Last week, the winger posted a six-month recovery update as he took to Instagram to post an image of himself in training and compared it to where he was six months ago in the hospital following surgery.
He accompanied the post with the caption: “8th October, ACL surgery. 8th April, first training drill with the team.”
Emerson has been a key part of Newcastle’s Under-21s squad in recent seasons and even earned a call-up to Eddie Howe’s first-team squad for the pre-season trip to Hull City in July 2024, shortly after signing his first professional contract with the club.
The Carlisle-born, Scotland youth international made his first-team debut off the bench against Hull before going on to make 18 appearances for Newcastle Under-21s in the Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy last season, scoring four goals and providing two assists.
But the highlight of Emerson’s time at Newcastle’s academy so far came in the 2023/24 UEFA Youth League as he helped Newcastle claim their first-ever win in the competition by scoring the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
Emerson will be hoping to bounce back from a difficult and lengthy spell out to earn himself a new deal at Newcastle next season.
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