Tanaka has been in good form since the international break
Ao Tanaka has had a strange, almost surreal few weeks, the kind of storyline football writes when it wants to blur tragedy with redemption.
Barely a month after an unfortunate challenge left Ghana midfielder Abu Francis with a fractured leg during Japan’s international friendly.
The Leeds United midfielder has returned to England and produced some of the best club form of his Premier League career.
The collision with Francis, a blocked shot gone horribly wrong, sparked shock, anger, sympathy, and a wave of apologies from the Japanese player, who reached out publicly and privately to express remorse.
Francis Abu to miss 2026 World Cup after broken leg
For many Ghanaian fans, the image of Francis on a stretcher was not something to move on from quickly.
But since the international break ended, Tanaka’s football has moved decisively in the opposite direction.
Leeds need every scrap of inspiration they can find, and in the chaos of December fixtures, Tanaka has delivered exactly that.
While the club has lost two of its last four games, against Manchester City and Aston Villa, it is the other two results that have sparked conversation: a 3–1 win over Chelsea on December 3, 2025, and a breathless 3–3 draw with Liverpool on December 6, 2025.
And in both matches, the midfielder at the centre of recent headlines provided the decisive moments.
Against Chelsea, Tanaka scored Leeds United’s second goal, a brilliantly timed strike that put them 2–0 up and set the tone for one of their most impressive performances of the season. He played 67 minutes, controlled the midfield, and helped Leeds outrun and outwork a sluggish Blues side.
Three days later, he did it again.
With Leeds trailing deep into stoppage time against Liverpool, Tanaka popped up in the 96th minute to bury a dramatic equaliser, snatching a point and piling more pressure onto Arne Slot’s already wobbling Liverpool team.
For Leeds, it felt like victory; for Tanaka, it was the moment that sealed a remarkable personal turnaround.
It means that in the four games since the injury incident, Tanaka has scored two crucial goals, directly shaping two major results.
Tanaka’s performances since the unfortunate collision show a footballer who has moved from remorse to responsibility, and who, in Leeds colours, is suddenly having one of the brightest spells of his career.
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