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

FORMER UNITED MAN’S STATESIDE REBOOT

SEAN Longstaff has pushed through the pain barrier for Newcastle United after suffering an injury that would have left a lot of players ‘done’.

That is according to younger brother Matty after Longstaff came under fire for his recent performances.

Eddie Howe previously revealed that Longstaff had been taking pain-killing injections for a foot problem, which limited his training time, and the Newcastle boss said the 26-year-old needs to train regularly to find his ‘best rhythm’.

Longstaff is now in a better place physically, but Howe has had few alternatives to give the Geordie a breather in a campaign where Newcastle have rarely had more than four recognised midfielders fit and available to compete for three starting spots.

Sandro Tonali has been suspended since October while Joelinton, Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson and Lewis Miley have all had spells in a crowded treatment room.

Bruno Guimaraes, as a result, remains the only midfielder to have played more minutes in the Premier League than Longstaff despite the Geordie’s injury issues.

“They’re the parts of football that you don’t see and you’ll never know what it’s like until you go through it,” Matty told The Journal.

“The amount of stuff he plays through is mental. I know a lot of players who would have the same injury and that’s them done.

“He did his ankle at Bournemouth and was meant to be out for between eight and 12 weeks, and he was back in four or five, which is unheard of, and he’s struggled with his foot from Everton last year when he got tackled and got injections.

“People can say what they want about him, but you’ve got someone who’s doing that for the club. That’s his personality.

“A lot of people are quick to jump on players struggling and not performing, but when you’re trying to do all that to get fit, some will say it’s stupid but look at the way it’s gone this year.

“If he didn’t come back quickly, and a few of the others didn’t, they wouldn’t have a team to play.”

Sean Longstaff has played through a lot of pain, says brother Matty

CIARAN KELLY

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