Long, winding road takes Tino Livramento to Newcastle United

NEWCASTLE: Three hundred and fifty-three days. Forty-seven games. It has been a long, testing road back to fitness for Newcastle United new boy Tino Livramento — but now there is Champions League lights at the end of the tunnel.

The moment the then 19-year-old defender crashed to the floor against Brighton on April 25, 2022, his young footballing world fell apart.

A player who, having taken the brave decision to leave Chelsea despite being their academy player of the year, looked to have the world at his feet, was facing a spell on the sidelines and an operation to fix a cruciate ligament rupture.

That season, his breakthrough, was a whirlwind. Thrown in at the deep end with Southampton, he marauded down the right flank, puncturing holes in defenses up and down the land with his speedy, physical, and purposeful breaks. His form put him firmly in the gaze of England boss Gareth Southgate, having represented every international age group from the age of 14.

But all that came to an end. And now, in a summer of high-profile deals, Livramento to many has become a forgotten man — and is very much being seen as overpriced. The lung-busting junctures in an ultra-attacking Ralph Hasenhuttl-shaped Saints seem to have faded to masses’ memory. It is a good job Eddie Howe and Dan Ashworth do not see it that way.

This attitude is the latest blow the confident, South London native has been forced to deal with, a young career littered with them.

First it was his Chelsea pathway being blocked by Reece James, then it was the injury, followed by a recovery only to see his side suffer relegation from the Premier League — for note, Livramento only played twice.

And just as he was on the up, his lack of games saw him overlooked for