Judgements are easily made on footballers by all spectators. Form and performance is something everyone can see, but the reasons for that can be harder to know.
Jack Harrison began the season with a string of eye-catching performances for Leeds United. The winger’s early underlying data made him stand out as one of the best attacking players in the Premier League.
One goal and three assists from the opening three matches promised much, but Harrison has not troubled those stat columns since. From afar at least, his form had dropped in the weeks leading up to the World Cup and the clamour for options like Wilfried Gnonto grew.
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The former Manchester City man would eventually miss out on Jesse Marsch’s starting line-up, but it was through injury. Harrison succumbed to his ailments on medical grounds for long-term benefits.
“I had a grade two tear in my hip and then two tears in my calf and inflammation as well,” he said. “That's why I was advised to stay out of the Tottenham [Hotspur] game because, if I'd have risked it, I could have been out for six to eight weeks and it would have pushed me back a long way.
“So it was a tough decision because I'm always the type of person that wants to play and push myself, but it was a smart decision at the time.”
Speaking to the media in Spain at the club’s winter training camp, Harrison admits he had been playing with those injuries through the matches prior to Spurs. While he refuses to let them be an excuse, it’s hard to believe they were not playing their part in his difficult spell on the field.
“I don't like to use that as an excuse,” he said. “It's always something you deal with as a player, you're always playing through something. Try not to let it affect you. It's part of the game just for the player to deal with it. It could be an easy decision, ‘oh I'm feeling this I'm not playing.’
“I'm always trying to offer myself to the team and push myself to the limit and that's kind of where my mentality is. I don't like just sitting out because I'm feeling something.”
Harrison is by no means the first footballer to play with injuries. Stuart Dallas memorably played through Marcelo Bielsa’s first season with a broken toe for weeks on end.
It has always been easy for the media or supporters to pass judgement on player performance without knowing exactly what that player might be carrying or struggling with behind the scenes.
“If you look at this group as it is, you've always got players like that who are pushing themselves to the limit and it's hard,” said Harrison. “It's not always easy for the fans, they're just quick to assume he's playing good or playing bad, but it's part of football.
“Fans are going to be like that, they're not going to change. We are grateful for the fans who are always supportive, but for the ones who are not, we understand you as well. It's just part and parcel of the game.”
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