Marcelo Bielsa came to the press conference with mixed news today ahead of the FA Cup tie in London this Sunday. Barry Douglas is injured, as well as being suspended Kalvin Phillips is injured and it doesn’t look great for Patrick Bamford. Izzy Brown should be back mid-February, so still some time to wait.
Leeds need bodies, simple as that. Izzy Brown coming back into the fold in February is all well and good but we expected him much sooner, so did the club. Brown had been playing games for the under 23’s before picking up an injury. It’s been played down but it’s going to stop him from making his debut until at least the middle of next month, that’s around two months after the injury occurred. Bielsa says he needs to play some more games for the 23’s before that can happen. Whenever he returns it will be a huge boost for the side, the hope now surely is he’ll stay on if he recovers fully, for another season at least.
Bielsa: "Izzy Brown is fit but he hasn't played in this last year, usually a process for a player like him is to play four or five games first with the under-23s. That's why if everything goes well, by mid Feb, he will be in a position to be in the first team." #lufc
— Lee Sobot (@LeeSobotYEP) January 4, 2019
Brown wasn’t expected to be fit until the new year when he first arrived at the club anyway but he returned quicker than had been expected. The talent he possesses will add a huge amount of attacking ability to a side who have just a few players in the final third at the moment. Kemar Roofe and Pablo Hernandez continue to be the threat, Jack Clarke and Gjanni Alioksi the other ones chipping in at the moment. Patrick Bamford’s injury troubles sum up a grim season on that front for the football club.
Not many clubs would take on an injured player and help with the rehabilitation over the course of nearly a full season. Leeds United have shown some serious faith in the ability of Izzy Brown and continue to do so. Although it hasn’t helped yet the club must be in a strong position when it comes to signing the player on a full-time basis. The chances of him making at Chelsea are slim to none and he’ll need to go somewhere where he can develop and grow in time after such a bad injury, why not come to a club that clearly think a lot of him? In the long run, taking on an injured Izzy Brown could be a stroke of genius from Leeds United.
