Because he's coming back from injury

I seem to remember the club saying not to expect to see him much this side of christmas/late autumn.

They will want him to be totally right from the ACL injury and be up to the level of intensity that Bielsa needs to play his way. I think he is in light training again and i guess it depends how long the process takes to get him up to match play fitness.

I see him as a bonus player and whatever he can do and contribute later on in the campaign can only help.

ACL rupture is one of the most serious injuries footballers get. These ended careers until advances in surgical procedures in the 90s and they still end careers now albeit rarely. The rehabilitation is a long hard slog of between 6-12 month depending on the type of surgical intervention used and whether there was any meniscus or collateral ligament damage suffered at the same time. It’s not just about the strengthening of the knee ready to return but also about strengthening the mind. 100% of players returning from this injury with have major confidence issues with their knee. They don’t feel the same and never will.

He’s going to need a number of games building up slowly with the u23s before being ready for the first team. There is no bigger test on the knee than playing competitively again - the twisting and turning whilst some ape has hold of your shirt and your trying to release a lovely ball - it’s hard to mock that in training.

Thanks for all the info. Much appreciated.

It wasn't as if it was a secret Izzy was coming back from injury when we signed him and was weeks away from playing.

Brown is out until mid October I read when we signed him

Can't wait for Izzy to get busy Outstanding signing.

Fingers crossed.

This hopefully will culminate in him having a major influence in getting us over the line at the back end of the season.

He isn't injured, just not match fit yet.
He only returned to full training a week or so before joining us.