Tino Livramento has been one of those players that Saints fans take to straight away and it was a big blow to lose him to injury for virtually the whole season, now he has talked about his setbacks and how great the fans have been.
The injury to Tino Livramento in April 2022 was perhaps the first of a series of issues, some like this that were beyond the control of the club, that a year later all added up to relegation from the Premier League.
At the time it was hoped he would return in January and that looked to be on track when he returned to training back then, but more injury issues would occur and push that return back to the end of this season.
Certainly having a fit Tino Livramento would have made a big difference to our defence and had he returned even in January perhaps been the catalyst to avoid the drop, sadly for Southampton FC in 2022/23 season there were plenty of setbacks, plenty of issues and plenty of mistakes but few catalysts.
Tino has spoken on the club's website and this is what he has had to say.
"There’s no way Southampton should be in the Championship, the fans don’t deserve to be supporting a club that’s in the Championship, but that’s the one thing that will never leave — the fans that support the club.
"We’re going to need them more than ever next season, because the Championship is not a forgiving league. You play so many games.
"The club’s been amazing with me, with everything they’ve done, and it’s not been a great season to not be a part of. I would’ve loved to be out there with the team, suffering every week, but at least I’d be out there and be able to have my opinion on what we should do."
After thanking the fans for their support Tino revealed the personal setbacks that he himself has suffered, including rearing a hamstring in January just as he was returning to fitness.
"I had surgery on that as well ,( the hamstring) so I’ve had two surgeries, been out for over a year and now I feel like I’m getting to the point that my body’s in the best shape it has been,"
"That was the biggest setback I’ve had. If anything it helped me. The extra two and a half months, taking it to a year, just gave me that extra security in my head, knowing that, ‘ok, it’s been a year. It’s in a good place, I know it’s strong.”
This is good news for Saints fans, Tino Livramento back to fitness and staying with the club next season will be a big boost to the morale and help list some of the doom and gloom surrounding the club at present.