Patrick Bamford ruled out for at least six weeks with foot injury - The Athletic 27/3/22
By Luke Bosher
Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford will be unavailable for “a
minimum of six weeks” after sustaining an injury to the sole of his foot.
Bamford, 28, will not require surgery on the problem.
The striker was forced off just 23 minutes into Leeds’ 3-2
win at Wolverhampton Wanderers last Friday, having pulled up after stretching
for the ball, and was visibly upset after being substituted.
Leeds confirmed on Sunday evening that Bamford has “ruptured
his plantar fascia” and will be out for “a minimum of six weeks”.
Leeds’ head of medicine and performance Rob Price said: “As
all of the stats show, Patrick has put his body on the line for Leeds United
for a number of seasons, he has played with a plantar fascia injury for the
last 12 months and despite treatment and a prolonged period of rehabilitation,
the injury has progressed from a partial tear to a full rupture.
“As all sports medics know, injuries to the plantar fascia
are notoriously difficult to manage, but all concerned are confident that he
will make a full recovery from this injury in good time.”
Bamford has endured a torrid time with injuries this season,
making just nine Premier League appearances after dealing with hamstring and
ankle issues.
In six weeks’ time, Leeds travel to Arsenal and will have
played Southampton, Watford, Crystal Palace and Manchester City.
Jesse Marsch’s side then host Brighton & Hove Albion on
the weekend of May 15 and travel to Brentford on May 22. They also have a match
against Chelsea which has yet to be rescheduled.
In better news for Leeds, the club confirmed that Kalvin
Phillips, Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente have returned to training and are on track
to feature in the visit of Southampton on April 2.
Raphinha, who tested positive for COVID-19 on the eve of the
Wolves win, has also returned to training.
After consecutive wins against Norwich City and Wolves,
Leeds sit 16th in the Premier League, seven points ahead of 18th-placed Watford
who have a game in hand. They are four points ahead of 17th-placed Everton,
having played three more matches than the Merseyside club.
