Football injury expert and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery has given his thoughts on Patrick Bamford and his injury situation at Leeds United.
Leeds United have gone through an insane number of injuries this season, arguably none have been more impactful than the injury situation surrounding Bamford, who was their top scorer in the past two seasons and their main goal threat from a centre-forward position.
Having initially picked up an ankle injury in September, a hamstring injury in December kept him out for an even longer spell and now it has been confirmed by the club that he has ruptured his plantar fascia, but that he will not require surgery.
The club stated: “Whilst the recovery time for every athlete is different, it is expected that Patrick will be on the sidelines for a minimum of six weeks.”
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Dinnery said that he had looked further into the type of injury that Bamford has sustained, and claimed that there have been instances where a player has been able to get back from the injury quicker, and so there might be a small light at the end of the tunnel for the 28-year-old:
“And Patrick Bamford, Jesse Marsch is still hopeful that the striker could play some part again, this season. His initial timeline following a rupture of the plantar fascia puts him at around about six weeks, which means he may get a game or two in before the end of the season. That remains to be seen.
“I’ve had a look at the research. Research suggests on a fairly small sample size that average return to play could be in and around that eight to nine-week mark, which means that six weeks could be a little bit optimistic. But also within that study, there were individuals who were back on the pitches within around four to five weeks, so fingers crossed there for Patrick Bamford.”
TIF Thoughts on Ben Dinnery’s comments about Patrick Bamford at Leeds United…
Will Bamford play again this season?
Yes
No
So it sounds as if there might be a chance for Bamford to play a part before the season is over, it all depends on how he reacts and recovers from it all.
At the end of the day, it is more than likely going to focus around whether or not Leeds are safe from relegation this season.
If by the time he is back they still need one or two more points to stay up, then it might be worth risking him again just to see them over the line and secure their status. But if they are safe with a few weeks to go, it doesn’t make sense for them to risk him and put him in danger of picking up something else that could jeopardise his and Leeds’ start to the 2022/23 campaign.
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