“Unbelievably important” Leeds ace set to miss Plymouth after update
He joins Dan James and Pascal Struijk on the sidelines for the game.
Tuesday night’s FA Cup fourth-round rematch between Leeds United and Plymouth, the other Championship team, will take place in Plymouth. The first meeting between the teams at Elland Road ended in a 1-1 draw. Jaidon Anthony had given Daniel Farke’s team the lead, but Adam Randell equalised for the visitors in the last 20 minutes.
The winner will receive a matchup in the fifth round against Chelsea or Aston Villa, who will face off in a rematch on Wednesday night. However, Farke has a few injury concerns going into the game.
Winger Dan James is out until at least the weekend, when Leeds take on Rotherham, after injuring his hip in the first half of the recent win over Norwich, while centre-back Pascal Struijk, who’s been unavailable since Boxing Day with an ongoing adductor issue, is expected to be missing until the end of February. Stuart Dallas remains a long-term absentee after breaking his leg in 2022.
Shackleton now on the sidelines for Leeds
Given that Jamie Shackleton is a “major doubt” due to sickness, Farke will likely be without a fourth player for the match at Home Park, according to Adam Pope of BBC Sport.
He then tweets that Farke has no new injury concerns and that he plans to play the game “seriously” while making adjustments in light of the Whites’ pursuit of promotion to the Premier League.
Shackleton had shone in first game
Shackleton, who entered the team for the opening game against Plymouth and performed brilliantly, proved why Farke has called him “an unbelievably important” member of his club.
| Jamie Shackleton vs Plymouth | Volume | Leeds rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 3 | =1st |
| Ground duel success rate | 100% | 1st |
| Total duel success rate | 75% | 2nd |
| Passing accuracy (min. 40 attempted) | 89% | 4th |
| Possession lost (starters) | 5 | 1st |
As you can see in the table above, he was rock-solid defensively and looked after the ball well too, but Farke may now have to ask 17-year-old Archie Gray, who’s already clocked more than 2,500 minutes this season, to start yet another match.
This season, the gifted young player has not yet started a competitive game for the first squad.
Shackleton will be especially disappointed to lose the chance because he has started more games in the cup (two) than in the league (one) since the end of September. The news that Leeds plans to extend his contract before it expires in the summer has surfaced, and this would have been a chance for him to raise his profile prior to those talks. It’s uncertain where he will get another chance if Leeds lose.