SAINTS are eyeing a long-awaited January return for Tino Livramento although manager Nathan Jones cautioned that they have to be “careful” with the full-back as he works his way back from a serious knee injury.

A revelation last season after joining Saints from Chelsea, Livramento started 25 Premier League games before suffering a torn ACL in April’s 2-2 draw with Brighton.

A lengthy recovery process followed and while Jones confessed that the 20-year-old is yet to take part in “significant” team training, a return to the pitch could be on the horizon.

“He was in a real real good place and then he picked up a few illness bugs which have set him back,” Jones told the Daily Echo ahead of Saints’ League Cup clash with Lincoln City. 

“He’s in a real real good position, looking strong, looking quality. We know we’ve got a fantastic player on our hands. We’ve got to be careful with him but we’ll push him as safely as possible. He’s someone we’re desperate to get back.

Daily Echo:

“It’s a January thing but it’s just about how he reacts to the tempo, how he reacts to more load. He can be in a wonderful position now, then we load him, and he does certain things, and we have to be careful with him. 

“But he’s the most wonderful professional, wonderfully diligent young man, and that stands him in good stead to make a full recovery. We’ll be pushing that as quickly and as safely as possible.”

With Livramento sidelined, Saints have struggled for consistency at full-back, something that hasn’t been helped by Kyle Walker-Peters, Romain Perraud, and Juan Larios all struggling with muscular problems at various points.

The good news is that while Larios remains sidelined, Walker-Peters should be back in contention after recovering from the hamstring strain that ruled him out of any possible World Cup participation.

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