‘Same Issues as Llorente’ – Exclusive: Mills fears for Leeds defender after injury update
Danny Mills has warned Leeds United defender Gaetano Berardi may face similar setbacks as Diego Llorente when he returns to full training.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former England and Whites full-back delivered his verdict after Marcelo Bielsa confirmed the Elland Road cult hero will return to group training “shortly”.
Berardi has not played for Leeds since suffering an ACL injury against Derby County in the penultimate game of last season.
His contract expired at the end of last term but he signed a one-year extension in October to cover his recovery period.
Fellow defender Llorente was signed in the summer but has played just twice for Bielsa’s side after struggling with various injuries.
He suffered his latest setback against Newcastle United on Tuesday of last week when he was forced off after just 10 minutes and Bielsa admitted afterward he was worried about the psychological impact the injuries may have on the Spain international.
“Berardi may well have the same sort of issues as Llorente, Mills told Football Insider.
“He’s coming back from a long-term cruciate injury. You’ve got to build confidence in your knee, confidence in your sprint, confidence in everything else.
“It’s good that he’s coming back and I think Bielsa has said they’re not going to dip into the transfer market because of that.
“Again, he may have the same sort of issues with confidence in the leg. The leg will be fine but it’s having that belief that it’s fine which is sometimes difficult.
“Sometimes it’s completely by accident. My son came through a serious knee injury and had issues. It’s when you do that first jump, what happens? When I do that first tackle, what happens?
“You’re constantly thinking about it and then all of sudden in training you’re going through it and you just forget and you do something and it’s alright.”
In other news, Bielsa may let a Leeds United mainstay quit after a big update, according to a top pundit.