By Sam Stone

11th Nov, 2022 | 3:10pm

Leeds United surgery completed for injured sensation Harvey Sutcliffe

Leeds United youngster Harvey Sutcliffe has undergone successful surgery after suffering a knee injury against Sunderland in October.

The 19-year-old was forced off in the 81st minute of the Whites’ Premier League 2 fixture at the Stadium of Light after an encouraging display for Michael Skubala’s side.

Leeds United’s youth academy Twitter page has since revealed (11 November) that Sutcliffe has now had surgery for the anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Road to recovery

Sutcliffe was so unfortunate to pick up the injury when he did after impressing the Whites’ under-21s side. The defender would almost certainly have seen minutes for Leeds in their League Cup game against Wolves, with the left-back slot still an area of weakness in Jesse Marsch’s squad. Let’s hope the youngster puts this injury setback behind him and quickly recovers in the coming months.

For Leeds, the left-back role has become a real issue, with Junior Firpo clearly not at the level required to perform consistently in the Premier League and Pascal Struijk being played out of position. The American simply has to be targeting a left back as one of his top priorities heading into the winter window.

When it comes to Sutcliffe, he signed his first professional contract with the club in the summer, so there should be hope that he will be able to come back strong and make an impact. This season may well be written off for the youngster, with the 2023/24 season looking the likely time we will see him back to full fitness.

In other Leeds United news, Chris Sutton shares his prediction for the Whites’ clash v Tottenham.