‘Really painful’: Leeds star says he played 15 games this season despite having a serious injury

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Leeds United star Rodrigo has revealed that he has spent most of this campaign in pain due to an injury he picked before the start of the season.

The 31-year-old Spaniard joined the Whites from Valencia for a club-record £26 million fee in the summer of 2020. (BBC)

He has played 54 times for Leeds so far in all competitions and has scored just 12 goals, which isn’t a great record for a striker of his calibre.

Rodrigo really wanted to have a big impact this season but he has revealed that he hasn’t been fit for most parts of the campaign. To be specific, before sitting out of the squad in November for treatment, he played 15 games, and he says he was in pain in every single one of those fixtures.

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Leeds striker Rodrigo: I’ve been in pain since the start of the season

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, the Spaniard said: “It was a really bad moment for me because it’s a terrible pain. This problem in my feet started in pre-season more or less, in the middle of pre-season and was getting worse week by week, it’s really painful.

“I felt really uncomfortable and played with pain for a long time until I couldn’t manage the pain anymore I had to stop for six weeks more or less. It was important for me after the international break (in November) that I had to stop because I couldn’t manage the pain anymore.

“I remember the game against Brighton (in November), the last 10 or 15 minutes I was literally walking on the pitch because I couldn’t run anymore.

“I’m feeling really well now, I have for a few weeks, 100 per cent.”

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TBR View:

One of the biggest reasons why Leeds United have struggled this season is because of Patrick Bamford’s injury. Marcelo Bielsa really hoped that Rodrigo would step up, but he could only manage two goals in his first 14 league games of the season.

We now know why!

Leeds fans should be really happy now that Rodrigo is feeling fully fit. The Spaniard has scored in each of his last two games and that has helped the Whites go seven points clear of the relegation zone.

The danger is not fully gone for Leeds, but if Rodrigo continues to fire, they should be able to avoid the drop quite comfortably.

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