Leeds United star's early pre-season fitness verdict after frustrating injury-riddled campaign
The 2025/26 Premier League season was a frustrating one fitness-wise for one Leeds United player.
Leeds United winger Daniel James is hoping to hit the ground running in pre-season with no injury issues to manage heading into the summer.
James endured a frustrating 2025/26 campaign with injury, missing a total of 18 games for club and country due to a number of separate problems. The most serious was a hamstring tendon issue that sidelined the speedy winger for two months while a groin strain also kept him out for three weeks in the spring.
But James did feature in each of Leeds’ final four league games and can now look forward to a pair of summer friendlies with Wales, who play Ghana and Romania this week. The fixtures carry little meaning for a Welsh side not heading to the World Cup but they offer a chance for Leeds’ winger to keep building fitness.
“Coming into this camp I feel a lot fitter,” James said. “I’ve been fit for a long time, got some minutes towards the end of the season and I’m in a really good place.
“The last couple of seasons I’ve gone into the summer with a slight injury, which also hasn't helped going into pre-season so I want to be as fit as I can going into pre-season.”
James’ frustrating fitness issues came amid an encouraging season for his club. Leeds were simply aiming to survive and did so with relative comfort in the end, their 47 points good enough for 14th place and safety with three games to spare.
It’s set to be an exciting summer at Elland Road as key decision-makers look to build on that promising campaign, both through recruitment and stadium development. James and his club-level teammates, meanwhile, will return for an exciting pre-season that includes a tour of the USA and a meeting with Manchester United in Dublin.
“It's been a brilliant season,” he added. “Starting with Leeds we achieved our goal to stay in the Premier League and that's what we wanted to do. We want to become an established Premier League team and next season we just want to push on and become that.
“For Wales as well it was a great year. Disappointing not to make the World Cup but it fuels us for the next games.”