Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff has been playing through the pain barrier this season.

That's according to brother Matty, now playing in Canada for Toronto FC.

Matty told ChronicleLive: "They're the parts of football that you don't see and you'll never know what it's like until you go through it.

"The amount of stuff he plays through is mental. I know a lot of players who would have the same injury and that's them done.

"He did his ankle at Bournemouth and was meant to be out for between eight and 12 weeks, and he was back in four or five, which is unheard of, and he's struggled with his foot from Everton last year when he got tackled and got injections. People can say what they want about him, but you've got someone who's doing that for the club. That's his personality.

"A lot of people are quick to jump on players struggling and not performing, but when you're trying to do all that to get fit, some will say it's stupid but look at the way it's gone this year. If he didn't come back quickly, and a few of the others didn't, they wouldn't have a team to play."