Expert reveals remarkable Stuart Dallas claim after Leeds latest – ‘we’ve only had one in 15 years’
Leeds United initially expected Stuart Dallas to return early in 2023 but he still faces a lengthy recovery period after an incredibly rare femur injury.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
Dallas has been out of action for the Whites since April 2022, when he suffered a femur fracture in a defeat to Manchester City.
Jesse Marsch confirmed on Tuesday (3 January) that Dallas has recently undergone a second operation on his thigh following an initial surgery after the injury in the summer.
The American told reporters that the operation was necessary to “clean some things up” during Dallas’ recovery.
While the operation is minor, Dinnery insists that Dallas can now kiss goodbye to his hopes of returning anytime soon with Leeds urged to take extra caution over what is an extraordinary injury.
“The hope was always that he would return at some point, ideally in early 2023,” Dinnery told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“But we know that the long road back from serious injuries is rarely smooth.
“There are always bumps in the road, particularly when you’re looking at injuries to the extent of this, which was a major setback as a femur injury
“We’ve only ever had one recorded in the 15 or so years that I’ve been covering the Premier League.
“Dallas is through the first phase of his recovery and this second surgery is just a little bit of a tidy-up, a little bit of a flush-out required.
“The body is going to take time to adapt to training on a daily basis, and then also to adapt to the intensity of playing again.
“So Leeds will really not want to be taking any shortcuts, you just have to respect the process.“
In other news, Patrick Bamford faces fresh injury blow at Leeds United