The Middlesbrough boss expressed his well wishes to Jack Clarke, who was taken ill during the game at the Riverside and went to hospital.
Football sometimes takes a back seat amid more important issues and at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon the game between Middlesbrough and Leeds United unfortunately experienced one such incident.
Jack Clarke, who was in the Whites’ starting XI for the Championship game but was substituted at half time, required medical treatment on the bench late on during the match as paramedics tended to him.
The 18-year-old was carried away from the substitutes’ bench on a stretcher and was subsequently taken to hospital, though Marcelo Bielsa said he was feeling better once back in the dressing room (official Leeds Twitter account).
According to Leeds Live, Clarke was responsive and attending hospital with head of medicine and performance Rob Price, while Bielsa travelled there after full time.
Once play resumed, 12 minutes of stoppage time were added on at the end of the game, during which Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips scored a late equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw.
After the match, Boro manager Pulis was asked about the delay to proceedings, and his reply – as quoted by Leeds Live – was: “More concerned about Jack Clarke and I hope he’s okay. The time that was allowed was the time the referee had decided and it was set for both teams… for Leeds as much as it’s set for us.
“The more important thing is making sure the boy, fingers crossed, hopefully the boy’s okay and he recovers because he’s a very, very talented young player. All our thoughts from Middlesbrough Football Club actually go to the lad Clarke.”
Some Leeds fans took to Twitter and thanked Pulis for his comments:
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