Patrick Bamford's 2021/22 campaign has been blighted by injury and it doesn't appear as though there will be any let up between now and the end of the season. The Leeds United centre-forward suffered yet another setback in his bid to make a return to regular football on the eve of the international break earlier this month. Bamford has sustained a 'full rupture' of the plantar fascia, according to Leeds United Head of Medicine and Performance Rob Price.
Leeds United confirmed in a statement on Sunday night that Bamford will miss a 'minimum' of six weeks with the foot injury. 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," he added. With Bamford's injury diagnosis, it is expected he will miss Leeds' next five matches at least. Head coach Jesse Marsch will be forced to find an alternative against Southampton, Watford, Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Arsenal.
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A prospective return date of mid-May leaves Bamford with little opportunity to finish the season with a clean bill of health, on the pitch. Leeds are set to play their penultimate and final league fixtures on May 15 and 22, respectively.
“What he needs is a period of rest and rehabilitation to allow his body to fully recover," Price finished. Given Leeds United's two recent victories over Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, the need for an experienced and recognised centre-forward is not as pressing but Bamford's absence is certainly a blow.
The club also provided an update on Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips and Diego Llorente who have all trained this week ahead of prospective involvement against Southampton this weekend. Illan Meslier has not been involved in first-team training as he recovers from 'severe bruising', but is in line to feature versus the Saints. Meanwhile, Mateusz Klich is expected to make a full recovery from the concussion suffered at Molineux.
