The Leeds United star’s ‘next step’ is revealed as Stuart Dallas describes his 16-month odyssey following his horrifying injury.
Rob Price, the head of medicine and performance at Leeds United, provided an update on Stuart Dallas’ rehabilitation as he continues to make progress in his long-term injury recovery.
Rob Price, the head of medicine and performance at Leeds United, has given a thorough account of Stuart Dallas’ recovery from the strange accident that has kept him out of action for 16 months so far. During a clash with Jack Grealish during the crushing home loss to Manchester City in April 2022, the Whites’ promotion hero shattered his femur.
Dallas hasn’t played for the team since, during which time the Whites were relegated and went through three managers. The 32-year-old Northern Ireland international has taken the ‘next step’ in his rehabilitation process by reuniting with his teammates in training, albeit it seems unlikely that he will play again anytime soon.
There have been unsubstantiated rumours about Dallas perhaps retiring as a result of the lack of consistent updates on his rehabilitation and the seriousness of his injuries. These ‘annoying’ notions have been disregarded by Price, who has instead offered an intriguing look at Dallas’ journey since that critical day.
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I don’t think anyone has ever coped with the injury that Stu had, he said, according to the Official Leeds United Podcast. We’ve been relatively quiet about it, so I asked Stu in a conversation earlier today how much you want me to mention.
“We freed the essentials and continued the treatment. I believe he has reached this point., and it must be understood that joining the training group does not automatically make him eligible for selection to the squad. This is still a stage of his rehabilitation.
“We still need to increase the amount of training. Since this is the first time he has had other players around him, there is a different intensity, feel, and set of senses that come with that, but the process is still ongoing.
Looking back on that day, it seemed to be permanently etched in our memories: “He and Jack Grealish just had a clash of knees, and we knew it was incredibly significant because it was the first time I had ever witnessed Stuart Dallas remain on the ground while holding anything. He’s perhaps one of the toughest athletes we’ve ever encountered; a few years back, he missed two days of play due to a foot fracture.
He is that type of player, and his capacity to ignore discomfort and keep playing is likely what allowed him to make so many consecutive appearances under Marcelo [Bielsa]. We immediately called him back into the dressing room and informed him that we believed he had fractured right above his knee since we knew it was serious.
After x-rays at Leeds General Infirmary confirmed the medical staff’s fears, a seven-and-a-half-hour surgery in London was performed. Dallas and Price were already aware that the rehabilitation may take up to two years, and that their original timeline had been impacted by an infection in his knee that developed after Christmas of the previous year.
Price said: “We were aware that eventually some of the screws holding the fracture together would need to be removed. We went ahead and accomplished it, and shortly after Christmas he ended up developing a knee infection, which is usual after extensive surgery.
“That doesn’t represent a setback or anything else; it only slightly extends the time you have to return. We couldn’t advance him too much and continue with him from there in January, February, and March because it was simply one of those things that happened.
“I have to offer a lot of respect to the professionals who have worked closely with him because he has made continuous development. He’s still going through the procedure.
After a sluggish start to life in the Championship, Daniel Farke’s team has recorded two victories in their previous three games, and Dallas will undoubtedly want to support their promotion bid as soon as possible. Although the full-back won’t likely be selected for several more months, the squad still applauded the most recent development in his recovery.
He’s one of the biggest characters and kindest men in the squad who everyone respects and loves, Price said, so the players who are on recovery walked out and gave him a little pat on the back as he was rushing out to train. So it was nice to see him back on the pitch today, but
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