Insider: Leeds United primed for major Illan Meslier boost after Thorp Arch reveal
Illan Meslier should be fit and ready to start for Leeds United when the Premier League resumes if he returns to training this week.
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.
As quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth earlier this month (8 December), Jesse Marsch revealed Meslier has glandular fever.
The 22-year-old has been an ever-present but missed recent friendlies with Elche and Real Sociedad but could return against Man City later this month (28 December).
“Had it been an outfield player, I would have been more concerned about his availability going into that Man City fixture,” Dinnery told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“With it being a goalkeeper, the physical demands and outputs are such that the risk of fatigue isn’t a significant factor.
“My expectation would be that Meslier does train in the week leading up to the fixture and if he does come through that OK then I fully expect him to be in that starting XI.
“However, we never quite know 100 per cent. It’s a little bit different to injuries where you can give approximate timelines and there are stages and protocols that you can follow. With illness, the human body is different and each individual responds slightly differently.
“We need to be seeing Meslier on the training pitches in the build up to that City game to put him in contention. That will give him the opportunity to try and get that little bit of sharpness that he’s missed in several weeks.
“That will be a slight worry but the fact that he’s a goalkeeper cushions the concerns slightly.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has claimed Leeds United have been “very, very busy” as a new deal is agreed.