Leeds United news: Medical expert shreds Marcelo Bielsa in ‘vicious’ claim – ‘there’s no sugar-coating it’
It was no surprise to see Leeds United crippled by injuries this season given Marcelo Bielsa’s high-octane approach.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Bielsa was dismissed on 27 February, with former RB Leipzig coach Jesse Marsch named as his replacement the following day.
Marsch told Leeds Live on Thursday (3 March): “We met with the medical team on Monday and they introduced a whole myriad of injuries to me.”
Patrick Bamford, Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips were among those who spent lengthy spells on the sidelines during the final month of Bielsa’s reign.
Dinnery claims that Leeds were crippled by absences this season due in part to the Argentine’s coaching style.
“I’ve run the data on this,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“There’s no sugar-coating it. They have lost three years to injury this season alone.
“It’s a vicious circle. The squad isn’t blessed with a great deal of depth in key positions so they took risks with players they wouldn’t normally consider.
“Bielsa felt he was forced to throw the likes of Pascal Struijk and Charlie Cresswell in sooner than he’d have liked earlier this season.
“There is always luck in terms of being able to keep on top of injuries, but there are so many external factors too.
“The Bielsa way, the intensity. They covered the most distance and had the most high-intensity sprints.
“When you’re doing that day in, day out, and no surprise that players are breaking down and the squad is massively overstretched.”
Marsch lost his first game in charge of the Whites 1-0 to Leicester City on Saturday (5 March).
Leeds currently have five first-team stars out through injury ahead of their next game against Aston Villa on Thursday (10 March).
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