Javi Gracia has told Thursday’s press conference – as per the official Leeds United YouTube channel – that he will have the same squad he has available to him against Nottingham Forest, when Leeds play host to Crystal Palace.
Leeds are without a number of key players but were given a boost on Tuesday night when Willy Gnonto appeared on the bench. He missed 4-1 loss to Arsenal after suffering an ankle issue in Italy’s 2-0 win over Malta in the break.
Tyler Adams is expected to be out until the end of the season after undergoing hamstring surgery, while it remains unclear how long Max Wober will take to recover. The Austrian also has a hamstring issue, suffered on Austria duty.
Other absentees include Adam Forshaw – who may have played his last game for Leeds as his deal expires in the summer – and Stuart Dallas. Gracia, who prefers not to discuss injuries, responded when asked about his squad.
“We don’t have time to change our situation. We don’t have any news about injured players. I will have the same players I had for the last game,” Gracia said – likely meaning that Wober will miss Sunday’s clash against Palace.
Gracia says he will have same Leeds squad available to host Palace
When Wober picked up his injury during the break as Austria beat Azerbaijan 4-1, many were concerned. The left-footed star had been superb for Leeds since joining the club in January. But Pascal Struijk has come in to the side.
He could do little to stop Arsenal but alongside Robin Koch against Forest, the Dutch defender was solid. Liam Cooper, meanwhile, remains on the bench but he did get minutes in Scotland’s win over Spain, and at Arsenal.
Gnonto was on the bench against Forest and while he remained unused, it is likely he features to some degree this weekend. But, Gracia is likely to stick with an attacking trio of Jack Harrison, Brenden Aaronson and Luis Sinisterra.
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