Southampton teenage defender Tino Livramento is set to miss the rest of 2022 after suffering a major injury to his anterior cruciate ligament.
Livramento, signed by Saints from Chelsea last summer, was forced off during Ralph Hasenhuttl's side's 2-2 Premier League draw away at Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday with a knee injury. Initial scans have now shown that Livramento has suffered a significant injury to his ACL that is likely to keep him out for the rest of the calendar year, with an early prognosis being a lay-off of between eight and nine months.
That would rule him out of the rest of the season, most of next season and any outside chances of playing in the World Cup later this year.
The England Under-21s international suffered the injury following a challenge with Brighton midfielder Enock Mwepu in the first half of the four-goal game. Following the injury, Livramento went down and required oxygen before being stretchered off inside the AMEX Stadium pitch.
Livramento has been a key player for Saints in his debut season in senior football. The 19-year-old full-back has made 32 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring once in England's top-flight this term.
The defender has also earned his first five caps for England’s under-21s this season. While the defender has played for England 30 times across all youth levels, the teenager is also eligible to play for both Scotland and Portugal at international level.
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Speaking after Sunday's draw, Saints boss Hasenhuttl said that it was a serious concern of theirs. However, he has backed the former Chelsea ace to come back from the injury even stronger.
"It's not good looking. It's a pity to say that this is serious," Hasenhuttl said on Sunday. "We don't know it yet, but no matter how long he is out, he will come back even stronger. He is very, very down, but this is understandable. I think we will definitely see him coming back even stronger."
As per match ratings from WhoScored.com, Livramento has been Saints' seventh best player in the Premier League this season. He has averaged a match rating of 6.73 from his 28 Premier League games, a ranking that is fifth of all players in the top-flight aged 21 and under (minimum 25 appearances).
Saints currently sit 13th in the Premier League table, having won just once in their last eight league matches. In their final four games of the campaign, they will face Crystal Palace, Brentford, Liverpool and Leicester City.
They do sit just two points shy of the top half of the table, with Leicester currently on 42 points in tenth place. A top half finish this season would be their highest in the Premier League for five seasons, with their last finish of tenth or higher coming in the 2016/17 season, where Saints ended the campaign in eighth place.
In their 34 league games this season, 13 have ended in draws. That total of draws is the joint-second highest alongside Burnley. Only Palace (14) have seen more league results end in draws this season.
