Dan James ligament injury speculated after Leeds United return twist
Dan James is one of several Leeds United stars to have suffered an injury already this season.
Leeds United suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Tottenham on Saturday, meaning they will head into the international break with one win from their last five.
However, they also head into it without James, who has missed the last few Premier League encounters through injury, alongside Willy Gnonto.
James was expected to be out for a long time, but the latest updates may have painted a clearer picture of what injury he suffered.
Injury expert suspects ligament damage for Dan James
James will only miss a few weeks of action after Craig Bellamy confirmed that to be the case ahead of the October international break.
The Welshman was originally called up for international duty, though it became clear relatively quickly that it would not be the case.
Given his importance, Leeds will be hoping he can return after the break, with injury expert Dr Brar speculating that it could be ligament damage that caused such a differing time frame for his recovery.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, he said: “Ankle or foot injuries are really hard to give a timeline on early because they are quite prone to fluctuation, and that can be good or bad.
“It’s difficult to say what type of injury, but my first guess is that he had ligament damage that was much less than anticipated, or they initially thought he may need a procedure, but he responded well to early treatment, so that was tabled for more conservative rehab.”
Dan James’ season by numbers so far
James hasn’t had the best of times in the Premier League, and he has done little to showcase his worth for Leeds so far this season.
Via FotMob, the Welshman has only created two chances in the four appearances he has made in the top flight, with a combined xG and xA of just 0.6.
James’ stats last season for Leeds
- 37 appearances
- 12 goals
- Nine assists
Only 55.3 per cent of his attempted passes have reached their desired target, with just 16.7 per cent of his attempted crosses finding a teammate.
Compared to last season, James was creating 1.51 chances per game and recording 0.71 xG + xA every 90 minutes.
Leeds certainly need James back as an option, but they will need to see far more from him when that day comes.
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