Leeds United loanee Izzy Brown 'set to return from injury in January'

The Chelsea midfielder looks likely to remain on the sidelines until after Christmas with his recovery from an ACL operation ongoing.

Brown underwent surgery during a loan at Premier League club Brighton in January, consigning him to a long lay-off, and he is finishing his rehabilitation at Thorp Arch having joined United on a season-long deal in August.

Leeds signed Brown in the knowledge that he would not be fit immediately and agreed a deal with Chelsea which delayed any payment of his wage at Stafford Bridge until he was back in first-team contention.

Writing in his programme column ahead of today’s game against Brentford, Kinnear said: “I know there’s been some frustration among fans that Izzy has not featured since his loan move from Chelsea.

“Victor (Orta, Leeds’ director of football) and our medical staff were fully aware that Izzy’s likely return date would be January and our head of medicine Rob Price has been working closely with Chelsea’s medical team to ensure an optimised and robust rehabilitation process.

“The financials of the deal are structured accordingly with our club only making a material monetary contribution when Izzy is fit and fighting for a first-team place. It shows how highly our technical staff rate Izzy, and the impact we believe he can make in the back half of the season.”

Brown was a promotion winner in the Championship with Huddersfield Town during the 2016-17 season, where he spent the second half of that term on loan. Leeds see the 21-year-old as cover for Spanish playmaker Samuel Saiz.