Sunderland star Leo Hjelde has been speaking in his native Norway
Sunderland defender Leo Hjelde has undergone surgery for an Achilles injury, the player himself has confirmed.
The Norwegian featured regularly for Regis Le Bris’ first team on Wearside last season, registering 19 appearances across all competitions and playing his part in a campaign that ultimately ended in promotion via the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
But in the aftermath of last month’s victory over Sheffield United, Hjelde has revealed that he faces a relatively lengthy stint on the treatment table after going under the knife in recent days.
What has been said about Leo Hjelde’s Achilles surgery?
Appearing on the Viaplay Premier League Pod in his home country earlier this week, the 21-year-old confirmed that he had already an operation on one of his Achilles, with another surgery planned for his other one next week.
Hjelde went on to suggest that his recovery is going well, with his rehabilitation said to be “ahead of schedule”, but did state that he expects to be out of action for a couple of months at least, with a potential return date of mid-August to September outlined. The defender also went on to claim that his specific injury complaint is a relatively rare problem.
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How did Leo Hjelde perform for Sunderland last season?
Despite his preferred position being at the heart of defence, many of Hjelde’s performances last season came from left-back, with the versatile talent frequently deputising in the absence of injured duo Dennis Cirkin and Aji Alese.
For all of the trust that his head coach placed in him, however, there were still those who questioned his suitability to playing in a wide berth. Reflecting on a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Oxford United in the latter stages of the campaign during an episode of BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, pundit Marco Gabbiadini said: “It's been a strange situation [Sunderland being assured of a play-off place for so long], we've said it many times obviously in the last few weeks. I do think there were quite a lot of changes in some of the fixtures which didn't help. I think we were all expecting a bit more on Saturday [against Oxford] because you had quality in most positions.
“I agree with you about Hjelde, he's not a full-back and he doesn't give the attacking support that those other players do. That meant that Le Fée was constantly receiving the ball around the halfway line with his back to the defender or half-turned. He was never really in the dangerous positions and exchanging the ball with Hjelde further up the park.”
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