Any way to long press on keycode in java client?

[Alexis]

I need to perform a long press on keycode_soft_left. I can click on it through sendKeyEvent and long press on graphical elements using TouchAction longPress, but how to long press on a key like soft_left, menu or Back in java client ? I saw a function doing just that in python client with a longPressKeycode command.

[Alexis]

This is linked to an older topic: #135
But I though it would be better to create a new topic instead of reviving a 9-months-old one.
Author @Tnguyen said such function did not exist in java client, but has it been added since ? Is there any workaround like directly sending a command ? Any answer would be greatly appreciated since long-pressing is rather critical in the application I am testing. I am on Android using latest Appium and java client.