Jesse Marsch reveals Leeds United man’s ongoing ‘physical issues’ and early withdrawal vs Newcastle

The Whites man battled back from a series of issues, including a hip problem which for almost two years put his career on pause, twelve months ago and has since re-established himself as a first-team player at Elland Road.

Jesse Marsch selected Forshaw from the start last weekend as United drew 0-0 with Newcastle, but the experienced midfielder was only able to complete the first half and was replaced by Marc Roca at the break.

Speaking after the contest, Marsch revealed that Leeds’ continued monitoring of Forshaw is in relation to his recent track record with injury: “With Adam, we were still addressing his physical issues, so at half-time, we felt like we needed to take him out.”

Forshaw has spent a portion of this season on the sidelines with an ankle problem, meanwhile the ex-Brentford man missed the end of last term with a fractured knee-cap. He is currently third choice in Marsch’s pecking order at central midfield, behind Tyler Adams and Roca, but has started back-to-back fixtures under the American, suggesting the 49-year-old sincerely believes he can rely upon the player he inherited from predecessor Marcelo Bielsa.

In addition to Forshaw’s ‘physical issues’, Marsch explained his decision to substitute Jack Harrison and Rodrigo during the second half against Newcastle, citing similar reasons.

"With Jack coming off [the back] of [an] injury, we felt like we were getting a lot out of him but we didn't want to push that too much. It's not that we had a [minutes] cap today.

"I thought Jack played well and was in the match, we just wanted to make sure that we didn't risk further injury with him a little bit, [and] with Rodri as well.”