Junior Firpo and Mateo Joseph send message to Leeds United defender after surgery update
The duo have sent their best wishes to the Swiss-born teenager, as he continues his recovery from injury
Leeds United defender Diogo Monteiro has thanked his social media followers for their support after undergoing surgery on a shoulder injury this week.
Monteiro won just his second start of the season for Leeds under-21s on Saturday as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 in their latest Premier League 2 clash. In-form forward Luca Thomas notched an impressive first-half brace to take his season-total to five in four games, with Jeremiah Mullen making it three on 75 minutes.
But Monteiro was only on the pitch for Thomas’ early opener, having been forced off inside 31 minutes with an injury. And the 19-year-old could be set for a lengthy spell out after confirming his surgery.
In a post on Instagram earlier this week, Monteiro wrote: “One more step to go. We’ll be back stronger than ever. Thanks for the support.” It is unclear how long the Portuguese youth international will be out for but a number of first-team players sent their best wishes in the comments below.
Left-back Junior Firpo wrote: “All the best bro, speedy recovery”. While Mateo Joseph, who has played alongside Monteiro at under-21 level before breaking into the first-team picture last season, wrote: “Get well soon brother just one more obstacle you will come back stronger”.
Under-21 teammate Harry Gray has also been managing a back issue and wrote: “Speedy recovery my bro”. Former Leeds pair Sean McGurk and Helder Costa also sent their best wishes to the young centre-back.
Monteiro now faces a spell on the sidelines and will join a number of senior Leeds players in the Thorp Arch physio room over the next weeks and months. Fellow defender Max Wober also went in for surgery this week, having suffered a knee injury while away on international duty with Austria last month.
There are no plans for Ethan Ampadu to go under the knife for lateral collateral ligament damage, but the midfielder is facing a lengthy spell out and is not expected to play again this year. Dan James and Manor Solomon have also been absent in recent weeks while summer signing Isaac Schmidt missed Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Norwich City.