Just last week, Leeds United had a clean bill of health going into the final month of the Championship season but all of a sudden, it feels like Leeds are lacking in depth.
Joe Rothwell injured his calf in the training sessions between last Thursday’s press conference and then the clash against Luton on Saturday. Farke has confirmed Rothwell will only be fit for the last two games.
Mateo Joseph is back after illness but Pascal Struijk will miss both games against Middlesbrough and then Preston this week. The defender suffered a knock to his foot on Saturday, and it could be even worse.
Indeed, Farke says that Struijk could miss the rest of the season if impending scans show a fracture on the foot. Struijk tried to continue on Saturday, only for captain Ethan Ampadu to tell him to go down late on.
Daniel Farke asked if Max Wober could replace Pascal Struijk
Austria international Wober came on for Struijk during the last few minutes at Luton. But the left-footed defender is only fit again after months on the sidelines, training for just one week since his return.
Farke was asked if Wober could come straight into the starting line-up when Leeds face Middlesbrough on Tuesday night. The German’s response was to rule out a start, but he is a good option off the bench.
“He has had many weeks out. Just one full week of training. Normally, not ready for 90 minutes, but the last few minutes against Luton have been good for him. I would say at least for a short term appearance.
“Josuha Guilavogui, Sam Byram can play here, James Debayo is an option. I would have preferred to have Pascal as our leader available, but we have to adapt to the reality and we will find some solutions.”
Farke also said if Patrick Bamford could start vs old club Boro
Bamford has been sidelined longer than Wober, but has been back in training for almost four weeks now. The one-time England man is over the hamstring injury picked up on New Year’s Day against Blackburn.
Bamford looked sharp against Luton, playing for more than 30 minutes. With Joel Piroe in poor form and Joseph back from illness but still struggling to make an impact, Farke was asked if Bamford could start.
“In training nearly four weeks. Every day helps, I like what he’s been doing in training. Even with the illness of Mateo, he would have been in the squad [vs Luton] because we got the feeling his fitness is back.
“Luton was beneficial. It wouldn’t be natural to put him into the starting line-up. But he’s at least a good option with his experience and his enthusiasm is good, liked his movements – it’s good to have him back.”
LeedsUnited.News’ predicted line-up sees Farke make two changes – Manor Solomon and Pascal Struijk coming out of the side, Brenden Aaronson and Ilia Gruev coming in, with Willy Gnonto playing out wide.
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