Daniel Farke has delivered the latest on the injury front ahead of Leeds United’s trip to Preston North End.
After back-to-back wins over Derby County and Middlesbrough, Leeds will be looking to ensure the three-game week ends with picking up the maximum nine points.
However, Leeds have struggled on the road as of late, losing two of their last three matches at Millwall and Blackburn Rovers.
Jayden Bogle, Junior Firpo and Ilia Gruev were the only players to miss the 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough on Tuesday, with a return for both Firpo and Gruev still some time away.
According to Daniel Farke, Bogle’s reason for absence was down to muscle fatigue rather than an actual injury problem, and so it will be interesting to see how that has recovered over the last few days.
Farke delivers Leeds injury update ahead of PNE
Leeds did pick up a couple of knocks over the course of Tuesday’s intense win over Middlesbrough.
Joe Rodon received treatment on a knee problem after getting caught awkwardly under a tackle, though he did complete the final half-an-hour without any issues.
Wilfried Gnonto was also spotted limping after the full-time whistle but his withdrawal for Manor Solomon just before the 70th minute mark was tactical.
And now speaking in his pre-Preston North End press conference, Farke has given a fresh update on the state of his squad, including some positive news on Bogle.
He said: “Overall, busy week. Third game within seven days, quick turnaround, early kick-off. Like always in this scenario we will have to take some late decisions. For the players who played 90 minutes in the last two games, it was just more or less possible to have recovery sessions. Today this afternoon we have another proper session.
“We will then take some decisions on who is properly available for the trip, and who is in the starting line-up. Just give you a few examples, Max Wober, for example, busy week for him because it was the first time in the starting line-up since ages.
“Is he really capable to play right now after such a long period, three games in seven days, can’t say yes at the moment, because his knee was a little bit swollen after the last game. It has settled down. I hope’s he’s capable to train today. I hope’s he’s available. But late decision.
“Same with Sam Byram, he just came back after injury and had some cramps in the end. It has settled down and looks much better. I hope he’s available but we have to wait for the training session.
“Same with Jayden Bogle, he’s improved so perhaps he’s in contention. We have a session today as a test to see if he’s available. There are many players with knocks and little hits, so for many of them it’s a test today.”
Could Isaac Schmidt get his full Leeds debut?
With Firpo also out, the majority of the question marks facing Farke ahead of the weekend is at full-back.
Wober has barely played all season and so to have played 160 minutes in just a few days, will have been difficult on his body. Byram, too, has also just recovered from injury.
As such, that could open the door for Isaac Schmidt to be handed his full Leeds debut just to ensure the likes of Wober and Byram aren’t at risk of aggravating any problems.
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