Last season, Patrick Bamford scored 17 Premier League goals, making an appearance in all 38 of Leeds United's league matches on their triumphant return to the top flight. The 28-year-old was instrumental in Leeds' top half finish, earning an England call-up last September following his stellar form. This season, Bamford will struggle to make 17 appearances throughout the entire campaign, due to a succession of injuries.
His latest ailment is a ruptured plantar fascia, an injury which has plagued him for 12 months, according to Leeds United's Head of Medicine and Performance Rob Price. It affects mobility, generating a sharp pain in the sole of the foot, but had been manageable for the majority of the past year until a partial tear developed into a full rupture against Wolverhampton Wanderers eleven days ago.
A club statement released on Sunday evening stated Bamford will spend a 'minimum of six weeks' on the sidelines as medical staff seek to put an end to the lingering issue: “As all sports medics know, injuries to the plantar fascia are notoriously difficult to manage, but all concerned are confident that he will make a full recovery from this injury in good time," Price said. “Patrick has been incredibly unlucky this year, his game time has been limited by different injuries including an ankle injury sustained at Newcastle and hamstring and quad injuries once back in training and matchday squads."
Rob Price and the medical team's next move will be determining the cause of Bamford's plantar fasciitis: “What he needs is a period of rest and rehabilitation to allow his body to fully recover," Price added.
Doctor of Physical Therapy Rajpal Brar, owner of 3CB Performance, suggests that a six-week recovery timeline is appropriate for the type of injury Bamford has sustained: "He’ll likely be in a protective boot to allow it to heal and then into physio," Dr Brar told LeedsLive.
"[The ruptured plantar fascia] may now allow him the proper time to recover because he can’t push through it [the partial tear]," Dr Brar added, whilst conceding a rupture was a 'more severe' issue than a tear.
Dr Brar suggested the six-week 'downtime' Bamford will now have to determine the 'root causes' of his injury could be a silver lining to prevent future flare-ups. This is instead of repeated pain management and careful monitoring of a lesser injury such as the partial tear which Bamford has been playing with for the past 12 months.
"The key is to determine the true root causes of the issue since it’s been bothering him for a while now," Dr Brar finished. Bamford's six-week timeline means he is likely to miss Leeds' next five matches, possibly making a return at home to Brighton and Hove Albion in mid-May. Assuming he does not feature from the start on his return from injury against the Seagulls, Bamford may only have the opportunity to start one more fixture this season - away to Brentford on the final day.
