Sunday night update on Tino Livramento - ACL fears addressed and Howe's comments

It looks to have been a costly afternoon at St James' Park, in more ways than one.

Not only did we lose to Arsenal after conceding goals in the 84th and 96th minute, we may have lost Tino Livramento to a serious injury.

The young defender’s awkward landing from William Saliba’s challenge, which saw him stretchered off in agony, was the last thing many Toon fans will have wanted to see as the games continue to come thick and fast.

One small piece of hope has come from The Telegraph's Luke Edwards, however, who reports that it does NOT sound like he has suffered another ACL injury, with the club set to find out more next week as he heads for scans.

Writing on X, Edwards said: 'It doesn’t sound like Tino Livramento has suffered another ACL injury, which is a relief. Will know more later this week, but he’s likely to be out for a while whatever it is. Huge loss.'

That said, Eddie Howe didn’t seem too optimistic about the defender’s chances of avoiding serious injury when speaking after the game, admitting it will be a huge blow if he's out for an extended period.

“I think it is a knee injury, that’s all I’ve heard. I’ve not spoke to Tino myself or anyone from the medical team so let’s see.”

“Seeing him go off in that manner was really distressing. The fact he came off on a stretcher is not looking good.

"I am concerned because he's such an important player for us. He's been magnificent at the start of this season. He's a big player, so if we are going to lose him it's going to be a huge blow."

Tino has been nothing short of spectacular for over a year now. Whether at left back or right back, he’s comfortably one of our best players every time he steps onto the pitch.

Let's hope it's not as serious as the early signs suggested, with Tino a key player at Newcastle and pushing to play in next year's World Cup squad for England.