Tyler Adams won’t be back in time to help Leeds in its battle against the drop.
That’s the prognosis of manager Sam Allardyce, who effectively shut the door on the U.S. men’s national team captain playing any part in the club’s three remaining games this season.
Asked during a press conference Thursday if there was any chance of Adams returning, Allardyce responded “No, not that I believe, sadly.”
Adams suffered a hamstring injury in mid-March, and roughly two weeks later underwent what the club called a “non-invasive” surgical procedure to help aid his recovery. Leeds has not specified the exact nature of Adams’ injury, but the recovery for a typical hamstring strain tends to be shorter than the length of time the USMNT star has been out.
Leeds is in 19th place in the Premier League table, and faces a difficult set of fixtures: a home game against Newcastle on Saturday, followed by a road match at West Ham on May 21. The final match on Leeds’ fixture list is at home against Tottenham on May 28.
Dire news for Leeds
Adams was a crucial cog in the machine for Leeds, starting 25 of its first 27 matches. Even as the club moved through managers Jesse Marsch, Michael Skubala, and Javi Gracia, Adams remained a locked-in starter as the team’s No. 6.
In his absence, Leeds has turned to Adams’ USMNT teammate Weston McKennie to play alongside Marc Roca in a central midfield double-pivot, pairing that duo in each of their last seven games. However, both of those players would be more effective in a box-to-box role alongside Adams or someone like him, and the lack of a natural anchor in the midfield has been apparent.
The difference for Leeds has been stark. With Adams on the field, Leeds has picked up 0.92 points per game; without him, their rate drops to 0.64. Leeds gave up 36 goals in the 25 games Adams played, or 1.44 per game. Since his injury, that rate has ballooned up to 3.00, with Leeds conceding 27 times in the nine games since he ended up on the sideline.
Not coincidentally, from the time of Adams’ injury to now, Leeds — on a run in which the club has picked up one point in six games — has seen a precarious lower-mid-table place become a situation where relegation seems more likely than not.
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