Jamal Blackman praises Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa for injury treatment

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Former Leeds United goalkeeper Jamal Blackman has been discussing his recovery from a serious injury suffered during his time at Elland Road, as he gears up for another season of football in Yorkshire with Rotherham United. 

The colossal stopper was signed on loan by Leeds United in 2018 and was expected to battle for the first-team spot with Bailey Peacock-Farrell. 

But first, he had to shed pounds to be eligible for Marcelo Bielsa’s strict demands and that he did. Then, with his first-team debut in sight, Blackman broke his leg playing for the club’s under-23s and his career at Elland Road was over, without ever featuring in the Championship. 

Blackman, however, clearly has fond memories of his time at Leeds and the way he was treated by the club and Bielsa. 

“The manager (Bielsa) had come to watch the game as it was a midweek friendly to get me ready for a game at the weekend,” Blackman told Goal. “When he arrived into the medical room, we had quite an emotional chat. He told me what the injury was, he gave me a hug and said he was sorry.

“Then, then the medical staff took over, explaining exactly what damage had been done, and how I could recover.”

There was no doubt that Blackman was highly-rated by Bielsa, who was more than ready to give him a chance in the first-team. 

“I say that Blackman is the best English young goalkeeper, not because I made this conclusion myself,” Bielsa told the YEP in 2018. “I’m repeating the opinion of specialists on the subject.

“I’m very sad for him. He’s a great person, a great goalkeeper. He made a huge effort to do what we asked him to do. To give you an example, he lost 12 kilos. This indicates his level of application as a professional.”

Unfortunately, injuries simply meant Leeds fans never got to see him in full action and, in the end, led to the club making the decision to sign Kiko Casilla from Real Madrid in the following January.

Since Leeds, Blackman got fit in a loan spell at Chelsea’s sister club Vitesse Arnhem before thriving in a loan spell at Bristol Rovers and will now spend the new season with The Millers, battling Lewis Price and Viktor Johansson for the first-team spot. 

Hopefully, he can finally kickstart his career again after that failed Leeds opportunity.