The Journal

It’s been such a Long road, but Matty is finally loving football again

FORMER UNITED MAN’S CANADA REBOOT

- By CIARAN KELLY Football writer ciaran.kelly02@reachplc.com @CiaranKell­y_

FATE works in mysterious ways, as Matty Longstaff knows only too well.

The midfielder happened to be having a later finish during his rehab at Newcastle United’s training ground when he bumped into Toronto boss and fellow Geordie John Herdman, who was visiting the facility.

The pair got talking by the coffee machines in the canteen and, before Longstaff knew it, the 24-year-old was boarding a flight for a trial on the other side of the world. It was a chance for the boyhood Newcastle fan to get his career back on track.

“I had not played football for 15 months, so you don’t know if you’re going to be good or you’re going to be rubbish,” Longstaff told The Journal.

“I thought I may as well enjoy it. I might never get another chance.”

Longstaff smashed it last month – earning a two-year contract in the process – but those doubts were understand­able following the trauma of an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury.

“It is the one you fear the most,” he said. “I had two surgeries and so many questions run through your head. One day you feel good; the next day you’re struggling to walk or your knee starts to crack a little bit when you try to walk down the stairs.

“You go from having really positive days to negative ones so quickly. You have so many thoughts.” Eddie Howe knew all about those thoughts as someone whose own playing career was curtailed by a serious knee injury.

The Newcastle boss told Longstaff that ‘everything happened for a reason’ after the academy graduate’s world caved in and he was stretchere­d off with an oxygen mask strapped to his face while on loan at Colchester United.

There were days when Longstaff understand­ably questioned Howe’s words – not least the ‘tough’ afternoon when outgoing sporting director Dan Ashworth informed him he was going to be released at the end of his contract last summer – but it was an experience that ultimately made the Geordie stronger.

“The gaffer was massive,” he said.

“He let me stay around the place. My contract ran out and he was unbelievab­le.

“He rang me when I was away and said, ‘I still want you to come in. You have got to remember what you did here. You helped build this place to what it is. I want you to feel part of it. Never feel like you’re not.’

“The gaffer and his staff spoke to me every day. Whether it was for five minutes or 10 minutes, it was such a big thing when you’re going through a big injury.

“The smallest conversati­ons from the people at the top of the club mean so much – even if you’re not in their plans. It can refresh you a little bit so I was really lucky in that sense.” ‘Lucky’ is a word Longstaff repeatedly uses. Longstaff felt lucky to have the support of loved ones. Lucky to have his own personal physio, Alix, at the training ground. Lucky to have team-mates like Emil Krafth, who had the same injury, and could reassure him in difficult moments. Longstaff also felt fortunate to come ‘out of the spotlight’ and spend more time with his family and friends.

The midfielder’s spell on the sidelines even gave him the opportunit­y to cheer on older brother Sean at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final and watch his sibling play on the grandest stage of all in the Champions League.

“That was the biggest thing,” he said. “Once I had the injury and came through the surgeries, I became my brother’s fan. I was at every game. I went to Dortmund. That was unbelievab­le.

“It was weird because I went from being in the building and then I was in Dortmund singing in the away end two days later having been at the square all day with my friends and my dad. There were about 40 of us. Two days later, I was back in the building again with the lads doing my rehab.

“It was really special getting to see Sean playing in the Champions League, especially the PSG game when he scored. That night capped off everything he’s done fighting through. It was unbelievab­le.

“That night for the whole of Newcastle was so special with the local boys scoring. If you said 12 months

I had not played football for 15 months, so you don’t know if you’re going to be good or rubbish Matty Longstaff

before the game that they were going to beat PSG at home in the Champions League, people probably wouldn’t have believed you.”

Unbelievab­le moments are nothing new to these brothers, of course.

Ever hear the one about the lifelong Newcastle supporter who scored the winner against Manchester United on his Premier League debut?

To borrow a phrase from former manager Steve Bruce, that’s exactly what ‘the kid with the bright ginger hair’ did on that unforgetta­ble evening at St James’ Park in 2019.

Who could forget the scenes at full-time when a visibly proud Sean handed his younger brother the man of the match award following their chat with broadcaste­rs?

Graeme Souness called it ‘one of the best interviews he had seen’ while Gary Neville, who also shared a pitch with his sibling, Phil, had ‘goosebumps.’

“It was like a Hollywood film,” Longstaff said. “If you had to write a script, that would have been it. It’s something I’ll cherish until I grow old ... the biggest thing was getting to play with Sean.

“I was really lucky because he looked after me on my debut. There are things you probably don’t see but when we first started the game, he passed me the ball straight away when I had no one around me just to get a touch.

“If you said when we were younger that you are both going to get to play in the Premier League together, even just getting to do it once would have

been so special – and we did it a few times. Those are memories that our family definitely won’t forget.”

It felt like just the start – Longstaff even scored another against Manchester United in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford a few months later. However, that Boxing Day strike proved his final top-flight goal for the club.

There was a subsequent contract stand-off during lockdown, as Udinese hovered, before the Geordie eventually put pen to paper.

Longstaff would make just five further appearance­s for Newcastle and was sent out on loan to Aberdeen in 2021. The move did not work out.

He was recalled and ended up at League Two side Mansfield Town, where he suffered play-off heartache at Wembley, before the midfielder’s injury at Colchester capped off a ‘couple of tough years.’

“There’s so much you look back on that you probably would change,” he admitted.

Those thoughts are far from Longstaff’s mind now, though. As Toronto manager John Herdman said: “He is really enjoying his football.”

You can tell as much even from thousands of miles away. There is a huge smile on Longstaff’s face and the 24-year-old feels in ‘miles better shape physically and so much more refreshed mentally’ after already becoming a starter for a reborn Toronto side in MLS.

“You cherish the moments a little bit more knowing what you have gone through,” he added.

“I look forward to waking up and coming to training every day. When you have days off, you’re a bit disappoint­ed because you’re enjoying it so much.

“When we start playing twice a week in a few months’ time, I might say something different!

“But I’ve absolutely loved it. I’ve absolutely loved working with the manager and all his staff.

“There are such great people working in the building that hopefully we can do something special.”

 ?? ?? Matty Longstaff is stretchere­d off after suffering an ACL injury while on loan at Colchester in December 2022
Matty Longstaff is stretchere­d off after suffering an ACL injury while on loan at Colchester in December 2022
 ?? ?? Matty Longstaff on duty for Toronto FC against New York City at Yankee Stadium last month
Matty Longstaff on duty for Toronto FC against New York City at Yankee Stadium last month
 ?? ?? Longstaff after his winner against Manchester United on his Premier League debut
Longstaff after his winner against Manchester United on his Premier League debut

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