Leeds United have released a statement regarding defender Andy O`Brien after the defender had refused to play for the club since mid-November.
O`Brien had not featured for Leeds since August when he started against Leicester City at the start of November.
He did not feature in Leeds next game at Burnley and Leeds manager Simon Grayson stated after the game that the player had refused to play for the club and that he never would do again.
No further information has ever been released until today, when Leeds announced that the player was back in training and released the following statement:
‘The club brought disciplinary action against the player following his refusal to play against Burnley on the November 19, 2011.
‘It was announced at that time that the player’s future would be determined after a full investigation.
‘The investigation has led to a fuller understanding of the issues that the player has faced since the start of the season, which has seen him seek specialist medical treatment at the Sporting Chance Clinic for depression.
‘He is now ready to recommence training and the club will facilitate any further treatment that is required.
‘We were exceptionally disappointed when Andy refused to play before the Burnley game and felt let down. It is now apparent that there were a number of issues that he was dealing with at that time, which affected him in a way we could not imagine and he was not in a right state of mind to make such decisions.
‘On this basis we believe he deserves a second chance and we will do everything we can to assist him.
‘The club would appeal to its fans to support the player on his road back to first-team action.’
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