Leeds United are using Zone7 technology in training to help reduce injuries, injury expert and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery has claimed.

What's the word?

Leeds have suffered a lot of injuries since returning to the Premier League in 2020, a problem which was severe under Marcelo Bielsa, and the club are looking to crack down on their fitness issues.

Jesse Marsch has been using technology to do so, and Dinnery has told Football Insider that this could help optimise the squad's fitness and availability as they aim to avoid the drop.

“We know Leeds have been working with Zone7 technology to manage injury burden and increase the availability of players,” Dinnery stated.

“Ultimately, you can have the best squad in the world, but unless you’re able to get 11 fully fit players out on the pitch, then it means absolutely nothing.

“Leeds had some well-documented fitness issues certainly under Marcelo Bielsa when it came to keeping those players fit, and Jesse Marsch is trying to fix that with his methods.

“They’re a top-flight team who aren’t blessed with the biggest budget in terms of being able to manage a big squad and being able to recruit heavily so the importance is maintaining that level of availability within the core group of your team.

“Long gone are the days now where all players are just grouped together and beasted in sessions, they are a lot more individualised now.

“Ultimately what you want to do is not only minimise the risk of injury, but you want to optimise the chance of performance on matchday.“

Increased availability

Reducing key injuries could be the difference between relegation and survival, but this season the only long-term injuries suffered within the Leeds squad have affected Stuart Dallas and Junior Firpo. However, Patrick Bamford has been rather injury prone as well, suffering injuries on a couple of ocassions.

This is in stark contrast to last season, when Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips, Luke Ayling, Robin Koch, and others all missed a lot of games, and if the technology helps the squad maintain fitness then it is a worthwhile investment.

Marsch can greatly increase their chances of survival with a few January additions to pad the squad, and will be helped if the team does not suffer as many long-term injuries as last season.