Tino Livramento has revealed he told Southampton’s physios he would be joining up with England Under-21s despite their concerns over his fitness.
The right-back was called up to the age group side despite missing a month and a half of action between December and February with a meniscus injury in his knee. Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl expressed his concerns after the 19-year-old was named in the squad.
He said: “I am not that happy with his selection. Two or three games in a row is not good for his knee and this was the reason why we were very careful when managing the game time we have given him.
“I understand it is a big thing for him to play for England, but hopefully they know this and handle it well. We will definitely have a chat with them about the number of minutes he should play. In the end, it shows he is doing a good job.”
But Livramento shone against Andorra on Friday night, playing the full 90 minutes and providing two assists as England won 4-1.
And now he has insisted he never thought about not joining up with England. Asked whether he had any doubts, Livramento said: “No. For me, it’s always an honour to get a call-up. No matter what, I’m always going to try to come away with the team.
“With all the right-backs that we have, it’s important that I’ll always try to play when I can and give a good account for myself.
“I didn’t play in the Watford game and I think that was a good time for me to sit back and make sure I was ready to go again.
“I played 90 minutes in the Man City game and after that, I said to the physios, ‘I want to go, just let me go, I’ll keep you updated when I’m away’.
“The main thing is that I have to let everyone know how I’m feeling.”
(Photo: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
