Dani van den Heuvel has told Dutch outlet Voetbal Zone that Leeds United man Stuart Dallas has been “extremely valuable” behind the scenes, with the Leeds stopper recovering from a double neck break.
Van den Heuvel, 20, was involved in a very serious car accident last summer. While on international duty with The Netherlands U19 side, the crash broke his neck in two places. His jaw was ‘unrecognisable’.
But just half a year later and van den Heuvel was back in action for our U21 side. He played eight times for Leeds’ second string in the second half of 22-23, as they secured promotion with a play-off win.
Called up by Michael Reiziger’s Netherlands U21 side during this month’s international break, van den Heuvel could make his debut against Andorra tonight. He shared how Dallas helped him off the pitch.
“The love I received at Leeds also helped me, it really is a family. Stuart Dallas for example, he helped me a lot to stay positive. He is currently also suffering from a nasty injury,” van den Heuvel reported.
“That allowed me to talk to him well. Such an experienced player has already experienced everything, so that is extremely valuable. We often had the same training times, so I never felt alone,” the player added.
Van den Heuvel says Leeds man Dallas valuable in recovery
Still, Dallas is having an impact at Leeds despite last playing for the club back in April 2022. The hope will be that Dallas – who himself is on the way back from a double leg break, will play before Christmas.
He is yet to return to training on a regular basis. For van den Heuvel, he will be looking to shine after a period of time on the sidelines – especially, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.
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