The girlfriend of injured Leeds United star Luke Ayling has posted an Instagram update that strongly suggests he is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Poppy Weller, who is the mother of Ayling’s toddler daughter, uploaded an image on to her personal Instagram story on Sunday that showed the player hobbling around his home on crutches and with his right leg in a knee brace.
Weller accompanied the image with the three-word message, ‘helping her Daddy’, as Ayling’s daughter held on to his crutch to help him walk gingerly around his kitchen.
OPINION:
There’s no mistaking the evidence that Ayling’s injury looks a major one. The crutches alone do not necessarily denote a long-term problem, but the brace that goes all the way from the right-back’s foot to his thigh clearly signifies a serious issue. Marcelo Bielsa suggested after Leeds’ 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest that could be the case, which, given his reluctance to speculate too much, if at all, on injuries, said a lot. The Instagram update from Ayling’s home goes even further and is a crushing update for those hoping to see him in action again in this calendar year. Leeds fans already sweating over the 27-year-old, a key member of the first team, will now be braced for the worst. Reports state Ayling will undergo scans today on his injured knee. There is a growing sense that he has torn a ligament and might be out for many months, if not the entire season. A crushing blow could be about to become a devastating one.