Leeds United’s Head of Medicine and Performance Rob Price has confirmed that goalkeeper Dani van den Heuvel underwent surgery following a serious car crash in the summer.
The Lowdown: Marsch’s comments
Jesse Marsch first told the media about Van den Heuvel’s injury on the eve of the new season.
The head coach said the club ‘were really worried’ about the young goalkeeper following a car crash in the Netherlands, revealing that he had ‘broke some vertebrae’ in his neck.
Marsch didn’t share any details of surgery for the 19-year-old earlier this month, however, Price has provided a new update on the goalkeeper’s condition.
The Latest: Surgery needed
Price gave an official injury update to Leeds, with the club sharing the six-minute video on their Twitter page on Friday evening.
When asked about Van den Heuvel at the end of the update, Price said that the goalkeeper has had surgery and said it is ‘going to be quite a few months’ for fractures to heal.
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“Poor Dani was involved in a car accident when he was away with the national team.
“He suffered some serious injuries, he fractured a couple of bones in his neck and also fractured his jaw so he ended up having surgery over in the Netherlands in the summer.
“He’s come back over and is starting to work, he can run and he can do little bits and pieces but we’ve got to allow all those fractures to heal and that’s going to be quite a few months before he’s back involved.”
The Verdict: Time required
As Price mentions, it will take time for Van den Heuvel to make a full recovery, but it looks as if it could have been a lot worse, so it’s good to see that he has already made progress and is able to run.
Hopefully, the youngster, who won the Premier League Youth ‘Save of the Year’ award last season following his brilliant stop at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, will make a full recovery in good time and will be able to challenge Kristoffer Klaesson in the U21s.
Van den Heuvel is clearly highly thought of at Elland Road after signing a new deal through to 2024 last year, and he’ll be in good hands with Price over the coming months.