Injuries are certainly beginning to cut in at Elland Road as Marcelo Bielsa’s lean squad philosophy looks to continue to be tested.
The latest Whites to hit the benches in the treatment room is left-back Barry Douglas. The former Wolves defender joins a quartet of Gaetano Berardi, Pablo Hernandez, Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford rehabilitating under the watchful eyes of the Leeds United backroom medical staff.
However, it is a player who has yet to feature for Leeds United that is in the news today, his return from injury recovery cited to be around January. That player is Chelsea striker Izzy Brown.
The 21-year-old Chelsea youngster joined the Whites near the end of the summer transfer window. Yet he came to Elland Road with the Whites’ management knowing full-well that he was injured and the extent of what those injuries were.
Brown is recovering from a cruciate ligament rupture, an injury that has a definite long-term recovery time. This news, and confirmation of the January return, comes via Phil Hay and Leeds United Managing Director Angus Kinnear’s programme notes:
Been fairly widely reported already but from Angus Kinnear’s programme column today, Izzy Brown looking at January before hitting his peak and Leeds paying next to nothing for him until he plays: pic.twitter.com/XaUhVAbsrE
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) October 6, 2018
With Roofe and Bamford out injured, Leeds United are playing Tyler Roberts up front – in essence employing their third-choice striker to lead the line. Yet, their faith in Roberts has proven to be good faith, the former West Brom youngster having hit three goals already in Leeds United colours.
Kinnear acknowledges that Brown’s absence since signing is frustrating for fans, something that he picks up on in his column. He says that the club were aware of Izzy Brown’s injury and states that a “likely return date would be January.”
Kinnear further placates Leeds fans by stating that the Whites will only make a “material monetary contribution” when Brown is back in contention and “fighting for a first-team place.”
Now that means that the club are paying, as Phil Hay says, “next to nothing” for Brown until he’s back in contention for a place in the squad. He is a player who can make an impact in the 2019 portion of the current campaign, evidence of which can be seen from his time at Rotherham and Huddersfield in the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship.
He played 20 times for Rotherham (three goals/five assists – one vs Leeds), and featured in 21 games for Huddersfield (five goals – one against Leeds/one assist). It is this promise and potential that Leeds United fans will be itching to see at some point in the run-in to what all are hoping is a promotion campaign.
