Knee injury a ‘big setback’ for Tino Livramento, says Ralph Hasenhuttl

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has described Tino Livramento’s ACL injury as a “big blow”, admitting “football is sometimes nasty”.

The club announced on Wednesday the 19-year-old defender was likely to be out for the rest of the year after sustaining the knee damage in the 2-2 draw at Brighton three days earlier. Livramento twisted awkwardly while attempting to challenge Seagulls midfielder Enock Mwepu.

Hasenhuttl told a press conference ahead of Saturday’s home clash with Crystal Palace: “For sure it’s a big blow for him and for sure also for us.

“There are not a lot of positive things you can take out of this, because it is a big setback for him.

“The good thing is, if you want, that he has had his first, very good year for us, so he has shown that he is absolutely a Premier League player, and this helps you a little bit when you go into rehab for such a long time, to come back even stronger hopefully.

“We have a very good team here that is taking care of him. Hopefully the surgery is perfect and then we have a lot of time to work with him.

“If you want to take a positive thing, then there is a lot of break in this time – we have the summer break, then the World Cup in the winter. But it’s only a little consolation for him. In the end, it is how it is, football is sometimes nasty.

“This movement didn’t look so bad to be honest from outside, but he immediately felt the crack and that was clear it was something serious, and now we know it, and now we have to handle it.”

Hasenhuttl said there was a “fantastic” group of players at the club to support Livramento, and added: “A young lad, first big injury in his life, it’s not so easy to handle this.

“But then you need definitely players around you that give you a few