One hundred and four days after he was carried from Elland Road’s pitch with his right leg in pieces, Stuart Dallas was in his Leeds United kit and training at Thorp Arch this week. The 31-year-old’s 2022 was ended during the Manchester City match on April 30 when he fractured his femur before undergoing major surgery to set his body right.
No return dates have been set for Dallas’s return to match action, but the common assumption has been very late 2022 or, more likely, into 2023. A return to outdoor work at the training ground does not necessarily move the goalposts on that return, but it at least shows the remarkable progress he is making.
Dallas has been pictured on the running track at Thorp Arch with rehab and fitness conditioning coach Ruben Crespo. His thumbs were up and the reaction on social media from his team-mates has underlined the support he has in the camp.
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Jesse Marsch lifted the lid on Dallas’s progress in his press conference today. He began: “Then Stuart Dallas, I saw on the pitch today, moving around a little bit. So that was an exciting moment for us.”
Pushed on what that meant before everyone got too carried away, Marsch clarified how Dallas was doing. The Northern Ireland international is applying the never-say-die attitude he has on the field to his recovery.
“It's much too early to start talking about the prognosis and a timetable for Stuart, but any of you who know Stuart know his energy and his positivity and his personality is so amazing,” said Marsch. “The way he applies that, even to this situation, you see him suffering when he's got the electrodes on his legs, cranking it as absolutely high as he can and he only knows how to go 1,000 per cent.
“He's learning a little bit how to manage this because an injury like that can go up and down. He's been a big presence in the team.
“He's here every day and he wants to be around the team as much as possible. He still has such a positive impact on the group.
“Because of all those personality traits, that gives him a really good chance to come back as good as ever. So that's what we're all pushing and hoping for.”
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