‘You Work A Lot Alone’ – Leeds United Star Lifts Lid On Recovery Difficulty | OneFootball

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Leeds United midfielder Ilia Gruev, who returned to the pitch at the weekend for the Under-21s after his injury, admits that recovering alone is difficult.

The midfielder got injured back in April, and it took him time to come back to full fitness, as he is yet feature for the first-team this term.

The 26-year-old had a fairly sporadic role last season as well, as he played 26 games across all competitions, clocking more than 1,500 minutes.

Last month, Daniel Farke provided a positive update about the Bulgarian, stressing that he is glad that Leeds do not need to rush him back.

The left-footed defensive midfielder played 80 minutes on Sunday against Middlesbrough Under-21s in a Premier League 2 game which ended 4-4.

Gruev provided an assist to highly rated youngster Freddie Lane, who revealed last week that he has learned a lot training alongside the senior players.

The 26-year-old midfielder made it clear that he feels great to be back on the pitch, while revealing difficulties in going through his recovery.

Gruev suffered a knee injury at the back end of last season; he insisted that it was lonely to do recovery work to make a comeback to the pitch.

“Yes, I really, really liked it”, the Leeds midfielder told LUTV following his return after his injury.

“I really love to play football, and to be able now to be back on the pitch after this injury, it is the best thing for a footballer, to be healthy and to feel good.

“This is the case, so yes, it is a really good feeling now to be back.

“I think it looks always a little bit easier when you see only how the player comes back but in terms of the rehab, it is a little bit a tough time sometimes.

He also noted that some of the Whites youngsters are capable of big things, stressing that he is delighted to have shared the pitch with them.

“I know a couple of them, of course, also from the first team training and I know what they are capable of.

“I think we have some good players and I also liked today to play with them.”