Leeds United have confirmed that their summer loan deal involving Jamal Blackman has come to an early end after revealing that the goalkeeper had suffered the heavy injury blow of a broken tibia.
The Whites took to their official Twitter account and website to confirm the devastating news of the shot stopper’s status, having been stretchered off in their under-23 game against Birmingham City on Friday afternoon.
? | #LUFC can confirm Jamal Blackman suffered a fractured tibia in today’s Under-23 game with Birmingham
— Leeds United (@LUFC) November 16, 2018
Blackman, who had signed a temporary contract at Elland Road, failed to make a single Championship appearance for the Whites, with Bailey Peacock-Farrell preferred between the sticks by manager Marcelo Bielsa.
Opinion
This is gutting news for both player and club, who would have had seriously high hopes for his time in Yorkshire. Yes, he might not have been able to usurp Peacock-Farrell as the club’s number one choice in the first half of the season but with the youngster showing some shaky form of late, you can imagine Bielsa was thinking that the loan man might be ready to step up and take his place in the starting XI. That obviously is not going to happen now and he will instead face a significant period of time on the sidelines with the Blues. This will be a case of what might have been for Leeds and Blackman, and the club’s priority will now be figuring out what to do with just Peacock-Farrell as their only goalkeeper with any senior experience. A new signing seems imperative in the January window, and Bielsa will already be informing his scouts to find him someone to fill the gaping void between the sticks.