It has been a perfect month or so for Leeds United, but in terms of injury, they have faced some significant setbacks in the past few months. They have been handed another rough deal as Izzy Brown who was coming back from an ACL injury and had started making appearances for the u-23’s, is set to be out for the next 3-4 weeks at least.
The attacking midfielder cum winger hasn’t played competitive football since January of this year. The Whites faithful and even the manager would now be disappointed as there was a sense of anticipation to see this talented Chelsea loanee in action in the first team. After Saiz’s departure to Getafe, many fans thought that Brown would fill in his place, but the Whites now have to wait another month to see him in action with the senior squad.
The 21-year-old suffered a hamstring injury while playing against Barnsley and Bielsa confirmed the length of his absence by saying,”He has a problem which will take him 3 or 4 weeks to solve. I am sad this has happened, but it is very common when players haven’t played for a while.”
Brown had a bit of experience of playing in the Premier League as he was with Brighton on loan for six months and managed to make 13 appearances for them before injury brought him down. He didn’t get on the scoresheet in the English top flight but didn’t look out of place and showed enough quality to pursue United for a move in the summer even though he was still some months away from recovering.
It is always a risk signing a player who has been brought down with such a significant injury. Brown was ahead of schedule to appear for the Whites, but now after the recent setback, the club should be mulling over a possible January move for an attacking midfielder especially now that even Samuel Saiz has also departed from the club.
Brown is a tricky player, and he shows delightful close control and pace on the ball. This is what allows him to play in wide areas as well, but he is at his best when playing in the no.10 role. He could have been a major game changer, but the club now needs to be patient with him and not rush him into playing.
The Englishman did show promising signs while he was playing for the u-23 side, so it’s clear that he still has his touch intact after almost being out of action for a year. The club had huge hopes from him after he had seemingly recovered from his ACL injury but after the recent hamstring issue, its another setback for Bielsa.
