It is a sad day for Leeds United fans after Stuart Dallas announced he is retiring from professional football at the end of the season, with injury preventing the Northern Irishman from making a return.
It comes after the 32-year-old suffered a dreadful knee injury during a loss to Manchester City in April 2022. The 59-time capped player has failed to play in a single match for club or country since then.
It was a tackle from Jack Grealish that saw Dallas go to London immediately after and be forced under the knife for nearly eight hours. It was expected he might return to action before the end of the season.
But the former Brentford star, who cost just £1.3m in 2015, said that the injury had caused irreversible damage to his knee and he would not be able to play football again – at least, at a professional level.
Leeds man Stuart Dallas ‘devastated’ after being forced to retire
Dallas was a crucial part of Marcelo Bielsa’s side that gained promotion back to the Premier League after 16 years of waiting for top-tier football. He went on to play 267 times for the Yorkshire side, in nine years.
The winner of the Player of the Year award at Leeds in 2021, Dallas will be remembered mostly for his incredible brace against Manchester City that saw a 10-man Leeds beat Pep Guardiola’s side in 2021.
Dallas took to Instagram on Tuesday afternoon to send a message to Leeds and Northern Irish fans, explaining why he has been forced to make the decision. He described himself as “devastated”.
Plenty have already reacted to the news that Dallas will never be playing in a Leeds shirt again, including the likes of Jack Clarke – who Leeds faced on Tuesday night – and Elland Road icon Dom Matteo.
What has Pablo Hernandez done following Dallas announcement
That Leeds side that were promoted under Marcelo Bielsa and subsequently finished ninth in the Premier League were superb. Championship players, turned into Premier League-quality stars. Dallas was one.
Patrick Bamford, Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling and more went from being mediocre, mid-table second-tier players to living the dream in the Premier League. Hernandez another, in the latter stages of his career.
The Spaniard, who left Leeds at the end of the 2020-21 season after falling down the pecking order under Bielsa, returning to his home country with Castellon. He responded on Instagram to the Dallas news.
On his story, Spain international Hernandez described Dallas as “one of the best players and best people I have met”, before dedicating a whole post to the versatile Leeds ace. He will retire in the summer.
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