Phil Hay: This is the issue Leeds have with Adam Forshaw

Athletic journalist Phil Hay has said that the issue Leeds United have with long-term injured midfielder Adam Forshaw is that they don't want him to have surgery, yet didn't want to bring in a replacement for him in January in case it killed his confidence. 

Forshaw was injured following the 1-0 defeat to Swansea in August and while he made a 45-minute cameo a month later against Charlton, that set him back and he hasn't played since.

He has a hip injury which is proving way more troublesome than Leeds had first thought and although he was said to be making a "return to grass" a couple of weeks ago, there's still no word of a return date.

MOT Leeds News columnist Paul Robinson said that hip injuries are notoriously tough to shake off and said that Forshaw might need surgery that could rule him out for the rest of the season.

However, according to Hay, that's something that Leeds want to avoid.

Talking in a fan Q&A on the Athletic on Friday Hay said, "The issue with Forshaw is that they don't want to send him for surgery and they didn't want to kill his confidence by bringing someone else in just as he seems to be inching towards a comeback.

"Bielsa rates him so highly but the reality is, he hasn't played since September and we still don't have a comeback date.

"I believe he’s still out on the grass but part of the problem is that every time we ask Bielsa, he simply answers ‘I don’t know’. Which rather leaves us nowhere in terms of establishing any timescale. I saw Forshaw at Thorp Arch yesterday and he seemed in good spirits."

Forshaw has been a big miss all season but never more so than now, with Kalvin Phillips out for three games through suspension.

Leeds successfully navigated the first of these three games on Tuesday, despite Gaetano Berardi also missing it through injury, and play Wigan at Elland Road on Saturday.

Berardi is available for that game which will give Marcelo Bielsa the option of moving Ben White up to the holding midfield position.

Getting Forshaw back before the end of the season would be a huge boost but that's surely looking under threat now.

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