Stuart Dallas’s season came to a premature end when the Leeds star broke his right leg against Manchester City.
Boss Jesse Marsch says Dallas had successful surgery in London on Sunday and is expected to make a full recovery.
The surgeons were happy with the operation and reported no damage to his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Marsch has put a timescale on Dallas’ recovery and the Northern Ireland international will be out for around six months.
The versatile Ulsterman had been an ever-present for Leeds in the Premier League and Marsch hailed him as their “Ironman”. Marsch said: “He had a successful surgery. It was a long surgery, five-and-a-half years, but they believe the outcome was very positive and they say it will be a long recovery, but they believe he will have a full recovery.
“He has had something like 400-500 messages from fans, friends and family. We know that’s loved at the moment in time more than anything. I don’t want to speak for Stuart, but I’ve heard he has been very appreciative of so many people reaching out and extending their love and concern to him.
“We all hope the best for Stuart and that he is soon pain free and can return to the training centre so we can really start his recovery. I think we can safely say it will be six months, but it could be longer and I don’t think anyone wants to rush him. The bone has to heal and then they have to look at all the things like the cartilage, the meniscus.
"Everything seems to be relatively intact and the ACL is intact. I'm not a doctor, but a lot of the main structure off the knee is in place and it’s just got to heal over time. We all know Stuart is such a big part of the group, he’s such a fantastic person and player. I think he had the ongoing record for most consecutive matches, so he’s also an Ironman. It’s a motivation for us, but also Stuart will be back stronger than ever.”
Marsch must now figure out a way to replace Dallas’ energy in his team and he is Leeds’ dynamo. He revealed he was going to play Liam Cooper as a six against Manchester City before he felt his knee in the warm-up and the Leeds skipper is fit to face Arsenal on Sunday.
“I think we have players who can play the positions Stuart has played and play them well and quite honestly, I’m thinking more about Stuart than what it would be like to replace him because I trust our team and our players,” he said.
“I want Stuart to be healthy and back on the road to recovery. Before Liam Cooper had to withdraw from the match, we were going to play him as a six against Manchester City. His flexibility, not just his quality, is helpful and I think we have enough to cover for him.
“Yeah, you don’t want anyone to have a big injury like that at any time. Football is football and life is something else. We will miss him and we’re thinking about him.”
