Four senior Leeds United players to be omitted from tonight’s squad as Farke welcomes major boost – View
This evening, Leeds United takes on Swansea City, and under strange circumstances, Daniel Farke doesn’t really have any injuries to be concerned about save Stuart Dallas.
The main theme of Leeds’ seasons prior to this one has been injuries to important players, and Daniel Farke has been dealing with similar problems at Elland Road.
With players returning to fitness, things are truly improving for him and his team ahead of an intense holiday schedule that is about to begin.
Leeds team news: Who is back available this week?
Georginio Rutter, Pascal Struijk, Sam Byram, Djed Spence, Joe Gelhardt, Jamie Shackleton, and Stuart Dallas were all pushing to return to fitness following the international break earlier this month, with some of them being closer than others.
Liam Cooper’s problem surfaced during the match in the second half, which could cause Farke additional problems this week when they play Swansea City.
Nevertheless, Leeds appears to have everyone else healthy enough to play tonight save for Dallas, as disclosed during the manager’s press conference (via Phil Hay):
Who is going to miss out as a result?
Rather than trying to fill it with two goalkeepers at the beginning of the season, Farke will have to make some difficult decisions regarding who gets to sit out games due to Leeds’ unusual turn of events.
The following players were on the bench against Rotherham: Luke Ayling, Sam Byram, Karl Darlow, Ilia Gruev, Ian Poveda, Jaidon Anthony, Pascal Struijk, and Patrick Bamford.
Now that Spence is back, there is one player who is still out, and considering Junior Firpo and Sam Byram, that player may end up being Luke Ayling.
Charlie Cresswell, Joe Gelhardt, and Jamie Shackleton are the three who will undoubtedly miss out, and someone from Friday’s bench will also need to make room for the returning Spence.
As harsh as it is, seeing the team look that good is actually a relief.