Bates: Delph recovery is the priority

21 April 2010 15:15
Chairman Ken Bates insists the implications of Fabian Delph's injury on the money owed to Leeds in transfer fees is "of secondary importance".[LNB] Delph progressed through the Thorp Arch academy into the first team as a teenager at Leeds before being sold to Aston Villa last summer for a fee that could rise up to a reported £8million in add-ons.[LNB]The 18-year-old has been ruled out for eight months after rupturing his cruciate knee ligament in training and further money due to Leeds - and Bradford, who Delph left aged 12 - based on his first-team appearances at Villa has now been put on hold.[LNB]But Bates said: "Nobody wants to see a player seriously injured and we wish him luck.[LNB]"We have received a proportion of the guaranteed element of the fee with the rest being due in the future, an eighth goes to Bradford City, but that really is of secondary importance.[LNB]"This is when you find your character and he will pick himself up and dust himself down."

Source: Team_Talk