Injury expert delivers crushing Raphinha news after ‘misleading’ Leeds social media update
Leeds United attacker Raphinha could be out of action until “mid to late November”.
So says injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Roman Saiss controversially avoided being sent off for his lunge on Raphinha in Leeds’ 1-1 draw with Wolves on 23 October.
The Brazilian was pictured walking with the aid of crutches after he was carried off the pitch by Leeds’ medical staff after 53 minutes.
He told his 700,000 Instagram followers after the match that the setback is “nothing serious” and that he would be “back soon”.
But Dinnery predicts that Raphinha could be out until after the November international break.
“We don’t really know what this update means entirely,” he told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams.
“When I hear players and managers talk about injuries as ‘nothing serious’, I always take it with a pinch of salt. It can be kind of misleading.
“I have to admit, when I first saw that injury it didn’t look pretty. This was a forced external rotation of the ankle.
“There was a strong indication that there was a high sprain. There was some suggestion that there could even be a fracture involved.
“So when I saw that update from Raphinha, I took that to mean the bones are intact. That leads me to believe it is indeed a high ankle sprain.
“Raphinha was carried from the pitch and went straight down the tunnel. That tells me that this could be quite severe.
“I am looking at this international break and I would be surprised if we see him before game week 13 in mid to late November.”
In other news, pundit predicts Leeds United could seal £23million profit on Raphinha after source update.