Leeds United’s injury woes are turning from bad to worse as recent reports confirm that on-loan keeper Jamal Blackman has suffered a broken tibia during the u-23’s game against Birmingham City and the Englishman is set to return to his parent club, Chelsea. The injury happened due to an unfortunate incident where the goalkeeper collided with Birmingham’s forward Beryly Lubala as both the players went in for a loose ball.
The injury might not feel like a significant one mainly because Blackman is yet to play his first game in the Championship this season as he has been on the bench deputising for Bailey Peacock Farrell.
However, the Northern Irish goalkeeper’s performance of late has brought him under a lot of criticism, and many felt like it was the right time for the club to give Blackman a starting role in goal after the international break. However, that now seems out of the question as the 21-year-old is back at Stamford Bridge.
Reports say that Bielsa looked like a concerned man when the injury occurred and was seen immediately speaking to his medical staff after the incident. Maybe he was probably thinking of giving him an opportunity in the first team, but that would have been unlike the veteran manager as he is known to be too consistent in his selection even if his players put in a few poor performances.
When Blackman arrived at Elland Road, many expected him to be the no.1 in goal for the Whites but Bielsa persisted with Peacock Farrell after he had impressed in the second half of the last season under Paul Heckingbottom.
A goalkeeper has been one of the problematic areas for the club of late as last season the Whites brought in Felix Weidwald who came in with a good reputation from Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen. However, his performance in goal was abysmal, and he was rightfully sold to Frankfurt after just spending a season at Elland Road.
A goalkeeper might not be a high profile player on the pitch but is one of the most essential personnel, and every top team looks to build their team from the back with a solid goalkeeper at the base. Peacock Farrell has done well in patches, but he seems to have mistakes in his game. However, given that he is young the manager needs to back him. However, now there is almost negligible competition for a place after Blackman’s injury.
Will Huffer and Kamil Miazek are next in line to be the replacement, and both of them don’t have any senior team experience. The Whites need to hope now that Peacock Farrell can put in some consistent performance. As for Blackman, it’s a sour way to end his stint at Elland Road.
