Sean Longstaff admits injury comeback was ‘tougher’ than expected and reveals big rehab regret

Sean Longstaff admits the rebhabilitation from the first major injury of his career was ‘tougher’ than he expected.

The Newcastle United academy graduate made his first-team breakthrough under Rafa Benitez in the 2018/19 campaign, and attracted the attention of Manchester United following a series of impressive displays.

However, Longstaff’s campaign was prematurely curtailed by a knee ligament injury sustained at West Ham in March. The Magpies’ prospect had made 13 appearances in all competitions until that point, and was shortlisted for the Premier League’s player of the month award the previous month.

It was a lengthy setback from a 50/50 challenge with Robert Snodgrass that required months of rehabilitation, and the 23-year-old faced criticism for his performances after his return the following season.

Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles

Speaking as part of the club’s ‘Zoom Army’ feature ahead of the weekend win over West Brom, Longstaff was asked how tough it was to recover from the knee injury.

The North Shields-born midfielder answered: “It was really tough. I think it was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be.

“The timing wasn’t great in terms of it meant that the rehab was when the lads weren’t in, which made it a lot harder. There were days when I felt my knee wasn’t getting any better and I hated it.

“There were times when I did get down, and I was lucky I did have my family around and I’m obviously really grateful for that.”

Days where seemingly no progress was made in his recovery left Longstaff frustrated, and it was this outlook which he admits was his main regret from his time on the sidelines.

He added: “That’s the thing that annoys me the most when I look back on that period of time. It’s not the fact I was actually injured, it was the fact I wasn’t really a nice person to be around.

Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles

“There was a family holiday to Florida, it was probably the last big family holiday we’re going to go on. I look back on it with a little bit of regret just because I wasn’t always the nicest person to be around.

“I was going around the parks and was in one of the best places in the world and I was a bit miserable. If I could go back in time and change how I was at that time, I would 100% do that.

“It’s made me a stronger person and made me realise now how to act around family. At the end of the day, they’re the ones that are there for you through the good and bad times.”