Newcastle United star reveals injury ‘relief’ after 9-game absence
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Newcastle United news: Tino Livramento has spoken about his injury issues earlier this season.
Newcastle United defender Tino Livramento has spoken about his recent injury woes and the ‘relief’ he felt when it was confirmed that he hadn’t suffered a serious problem.
Livramento was substituted during the latter stages of Newcastle’s defeat against Arsenal back in September and left the St James’ Park pitch on a stretcher. Having suffered a serious ACL injury during his time at Southampton, one that kept him sidelined for over a year, there were fears that Livramento had potentially suffered another serious injury in the immediate aftermath of the Gunners clash.
However, those fears were soon downplayed and it was revealed that he would be out for eight weeks. Livramento’s return to the starting XI came just-shy of eight weeks after being injured when he was named by Eddie Howe on the teamsheet for their win over Manchester City last month.
Livramento’s return to fitness has not accidentally coincided with the Magpies’ resurgence in form. With Lewis Hall on the opposite flank, Newcastle have arguably one of the best full-back pairings in the country.
Tino Livramento opens up on injury woes
Speaking to the club for a piece in the matchday programme ahead of Saturday’s clash with Burnley, Livramento opened up about his injury issues and the mental strength he has needed to stay positive during his two-month absence: “I’m feeling good, I just have to take extra care of myself now.
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“Obviously being eight weeks out and coming back in - I back myself to do it, but it just means I need to be extra professional off the pitch. Making sure I’m sleeping well, doing my recovery right. I’ve enjoyed being back, we’ve had some good performances and good results.
Livramento continued: “It [the injury] was alright. It didn’t affect me too much. I’ve had worse injuries. As soon as I knew what it was, it was a relief to know that I didn’t need surgery. Then there are ways I can improve myself physically after being out for so long, so I looked at that and looked at the positives.
“There’s the mental side to it as well that I worked on. I have amazing friends and family around me. It didn’t feel like I was ever alone throughout those eight weeks with them by my side. It got me back to a better place now.”
As mentioned, Livramento’s return to the team has been complemented by the return to fitness of Hall at left-back. The pair’s athletic and technical skills allow Newcastle United to push further up the pitch and give their play, both defensively and in attack, a whole new dynamic.
Despite being on opposite sides of the pitch, Livramento believes there is almost a telepathic link between him and Hall: “We don’t really pass the ball a lot to each other! But we were saying there’s almost a mental thing when I know he’s on the pitch, he’s going to do something when he gets the ball or get out of trouble,” Livramento added.
“I feel relaxed knowing he’s out there. He’s an unbelievable player and someone when I see he’s playing I’m happy and excited.”