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Andrew Hankinson

Leeds United news as ex-player opens up on back fracture and Viera dismisses tiredness speculation

Here are the Leeds United evening headlines on Sunday, April 17.

Former Leeds player opens up on horror injury

Former Leeds United full-back Niall Huggins has opened up on suffering a fractured back as he continues on the long road to recovery.

The 21-year-old came up through the Leeds academy but was sold to Sunderland in League One in August last year. He made a good impression in a handful of appearances, but then suffered a stress fracture in his back, which has kept him off the pitch for the remainder of this season.

READ MORE: Kalvin Phillips' Aston Villa claim

Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, Huggins said: "I came here having not had the best off-season at Leeds, as I knew I wasn't going to be involved. I was straight into pre-season here and maybe my body wasn't ready for the intensity.

"But I loved it here straight away, the training was really good. I really enjoyed it against Blackpool and Wigan in the Carabao Cup, felt good. But at half time at Wigan my back just tightened up a bit, I thought it was just tightness and we kept going.

"I could feel it a bit in the next few weeks, and when I came on against Bolton to be honest my back was hurting a lot. I wanted to try and get through it and show what I can do.

"It sort of then settled a bit, which is something that can happen with stress fractures, I played against Cheltenham where we played some really good football in that game.

"It was my first proper game for me in front of a crowd because my Leeds debut was behind closed doors, and the fans were just unbelievable. I loved it. I was still probably only about 75% and then at Portsmouth, I just kind of knew. It's just been building back since then."

He had hoped to get back on the pitch in March and was training. However, he started to feel pain in his heels.

"We gave it a week and then when I spoke to the physios, I had a stress fracture in one ankle and the start of one in my other."

He has now resigned himself to not playing this season and will instead slowly get running again. His hope now is to get back for the pre-season.

Viera dismisses tiredness ahead of Leeds trip

Leeds United have a 16-day break before facing Crystal Palace who will have played three matches in that time, but Patrick Viera has dismissed speculation about tiredness.

The two teams play each other on April 25, with Leeds having not played since April 9. That break could give Jesse Marsch an advantage.

Palace meanwhile played on April 10, played in the FA Cup semi-final today, and have a trip to Newcastle on April 20. Yet when it was suggested that Chelsea, Palace's opponents in the FA Cup, might be tired, Vieira told Football London: "You don’t feel the tiredness when you play a semi-final of an FA Cup. Those Chelsea players will be ready for it.

"We have to be ready for the fight and we will gave to look at how we want to approach the game, follow our game plan and perform on the day. But we can’t count on Chelsea to be tired because they will not be tired."

Whether Vieira wants to admit it, he will know that Leeds will have an upper hand when it comes to resting up for the game. It could also give Leeds to work on their gameplan with Marsch.

Read more here.

Premier League stars failed drugs tests

Fifteen Premier League stars failed drugs tests between 2015 and 2020 though none of the players were banned. The Mail broke the news following a series of Freedom of Information requests, which revealed that 12 players tested positive for banned performance-enhancing substances. No bans were given.

One of those 12 tests resulted in a positive for an amphetamine and three for triamcinolone. There were also positives for the stimulant Ritalin and steroids.

The UK Anti-doping Agency said a decision not to sanction may be due to accidental ingestion or a therapeutic exemption. Such exemptions have been abused in other sports.

Go here for all the latest Leeds United news.

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