Injury expert Ben Dinnery has delivered his 'worrying' response to the issue suffered by Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw.
The lowdown: Cruel blow
Having returned to the fold last season after missing 71 games with a long-standing hip problem, Forshaw was ruled out of the final weeks of the 2021/22 campaign after fracturing his knee cap during training at Thorp Arch.
The 30-year-old missed six matches in the run-in as the Whites beat the drop on the final day and was looking to build up fitness ahead of the new term when picking up an injury in the 1-1 pre-season friendly draw against Crystal Palace, an encounter that also saw summer signing Luis Sinisterra limp off with a hamstring problem.
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After the match, Leeds boss Jesse Marsch confirmed that the cultured midfielder had 'tweaked his knee' following numerous collisions, although the nature of this latest problem is less of a concern than the ongoing trend for one knowledgeable onlooker...
The latest: 'More worrying...'
Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery - who runs the Premier Injuries site and regularly contributes to Sky Sports - suggested that Forshaw could be suffering on a 'personal level' after picking up another injury.
He said: “The injury itself isn’t such a concern but the background at Leeds is more worrying. We will have to wait and see on the severity of the injury. We sometimes don’t want to read too much into what we see in pre-season. You hope that this was more of a precautionary measure.
“It will be gutting for him on a personal level. We are on the cusp of a new season and he missed the last four or five weeks of last season. He would have been hoping to get off to a good start, but this could impact that.”
The verdict: Problem solved?
After losing Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City and Forshaw to a spate of injuries, Leeds wasted little time in bolstering the engine room of the Elland Road ranks, signing an abundance of conventional midfield options in Marc Roca, Tyler Adams and Darko Gyabi, essentially dealing with the potentially problematic area immediately.
Despite the reinforcements, Marsch will hope to have the £1.8million valued man at his disposal when the season gets going against Wolves and indeed thereafter.
Last season, Forshaw - who was described as a 'class player' by Leeds reporter James Marshment upon making his return to the side - made 26 appearances across all competitions for the Whites and will no doubt be viewed as an important member of the first team plans given his 300 matches worth of experience.