Leeds attacker Izzy Brown has been ruled out of Saturday’s Championship clash against Bolton.
Despite playing 90 minutes for the Under-23s on Tuesday and scoring a goal in the 6-3 win against Burnley, manager Marcelo Bielsa has said that he is not even fit for the bench yet in the first team.
Bielsa said that a player like Brown needs to have the right “strength and conditioning first” after being out of action for a year.
Bielsa said Bamford is ready to start or be on the bench now but still doesn't feel Brown is ready for the bench. Says a player with his style of play needs to have the right strength and conditioning first. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) December 13, 2018
OPINION
Leeds fans will have to wait a while longer to see Izzy Brown in action for the Leeds first-team. After he played 90 minutes on Tuesday it looked like his recovery was complete but as he’s been out for a year, Bielsa wants him to keep building his strength up before he unleashes him in the Championship. Bielsa has come in for some criticism this season over whether his methods are exacerbating the injury problems at Leeds but this shows that he takes the matter very seriously. It would be terrible if Brown was rushed back and suffered a relapse. A year out is a long time and the Championship is played at a fast and frantic pace. His original return was January and although it looked like he’d be back before, with Bielsa saying the player was “available” last week, it looks like January could still be a more realistic return date.