Leeds have finally revealed what was wrong with young attacker jack Clarke, after the youngster collapsed during the Championship game against Middlesborough.
In an update ahead of the pre-match press conference, it was revealed that Clarke was suffering from a virus.
He will now do indoor gym work this week ahead of a return to outdoor training next week.
The Leeds update was provided by Phil Hay who was at the pre-match press conference ahead of Leeds’ game against Bolton on Saturday.
Update on Jack Clarke – tests showed he was suffering from a virus. He’s doing indoor gym work this week and will do outdoor work next week, though not with the first team yet. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) February 21, 2019
OPINION
This is brilliant news. There was a lingering worry that there was something more serious wrong with Clarke but this means that the club can now focus on getting him back into the first-team. Of course, there are viruses that are seriously debilitating, so there’s no guarantee on how soon he will be able to return but this is still great news. He must obviously still be fairly weak as he’s only doing light gym work but this rules out some of the more worrying things that Clarke could have suffered from, and it’s massive boost for the club and fans. There’s every chance he will make a swift recovery and he should be able to play a part in the rest of the season, when Leeds will need him. He will play no part in tomorrow’s game, obviously, and Tyler Roberts has been confirmed as the replacement for the injured Kemar Roofe. He will need to grasp his chance in the number 10 position, with Roofe likely out for at least 6-8 weeks.