Leeds United’s Stuart Dallas could be in a position to represent Northern Ireland this summer, claims Michael O’Neill. Dallas hasn’t played a minute of competitive football since fracturing his femur while playing for the Whites against Manchester City at Elland Road last April.
After going under the knife for an initial operation at the backend of last season, he has spent the last 11 months working his way through a challenging and arduous rehabilitation process at Thorp Arch. The hope was that he would be able to make a return to action shortly after the World Cup break and the New Year, but a second operation was required and his lay-off has now stretched to the end of March.
Leeds are rightly treating the injury with caution but as Dallas approaches a full year on the sidelines, he’ll be striving to make a return and have a say on Leeds’ season as quickly as possible. Javi Gracia, who is coming to the end of his first full month in charge at Elland Road, has been careful not to provide a timeframe when asked about Dallas’ injury so far.
