'Shake that off' — Ethan Ampadu reveals personal fitness update in Leeds United rehab journey — YEP 29/12/24
By Joe Donnohue
Leeds United skipper Ethan Ampadu says he will be back to
his best soon following his recent injury lay-off.
Ampadu sat out two months with a knee injury earlier this
season but in recent weeks has returned to play an important role in United's
festive schedule.
Leeds first defeated Oxford United 4-0 at Elland Road, in
which the club captain made his return at centre-back, before a 2-0 win over
Stoke City on Boxing Day, with Ampadu back in midfield. Following the
hard-fought 1-0 win over Derby County at Pride Park, the skipper admitted there
was still some 'rust' but he is feeling close to getting back to his best.
"I'm okay. I give thanks to the physios and the staff
for the rehab that I did. I feel quite good out there, but I know there's still
a little bit of rust, so I'm just trying to shake that off."
"Hopefully sooner rather than later," Ampadu said,
on when he believes he'll be back to 100 per cent. "I'm working hard every
day to make sure that I can be in tip-top condition."
The Wales international has completed 90 minutes in three
successive matches over a span of eight days with fixtures against Blackburn
Rovers and Hull City still to come on January 1 and January 4, respectively.
Despite the tasking schedule, and Ampadu's own admission
that he still has some rust to shake off, the captain was one of Leeds' best
performers against the Rams, completing 20 passes into the final third, 12 more
than the player with the next highest figure. In addition, Ampadu made six ball
recoveries, won four fouls and five of his seven aerial duels as Leeds kept a
third straight clean sheet.