NafisaLeeds United captain Ethan Ampadu has provided a positive update on his injury recovery, though he remains cautious about setting a return date after recent assessment.
The 24-year-old midfielder suffered a knee injury during the club’s 3-0 victory over Coventry City in September, with scans revealing damage to his lateral ligament.
Thankfully, surgery was not required, but it was initially expected that Ampadu would face around ten weeks on the sidelines, meaning a return would likely come in the new year.
Leeds head coach Daniel Farke had suggested last week that Ampadu may be ahead of schedule in his recovery, but the player himself is being more reserved about his return date.
Speaking on Wednesday evening, Ampadu gave a promising update on his progress, though he refrained from revealing an exact timeline for his return.
“Recovery can have its ups and downs,” Ampadu explained, “but I feel like it’s gone fairly well at the moment. There’s a bit of time and a bit of healing that still needs to be left to be done, but it’s going well, I am happy about it, I am quite positive about it so the sooner obviously for me personally the better. But obviously when it’s right.”
When asked whether he could potentially return in December or if January was more realistic, Ampadu admitted he was hopeful for a swift comeback but stressed the importance of not rushing the process of the recovery.
“I hope as soon as possible. But I don’t want to rush it as well. I want to be playing, if I could, the Swansea game, but maybe it’s not right for my knee to do that so I just have to wait and see. I don’t really want to put a time schedule on it. As quick as possible, but when it’s right.”
Ampadu’s cautious optimising will come as a relief to Leeds fans, but it’s clear that his primary focus is ensuring his full recovery before making a return to action for the Yorkshire club.
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