Leeds United defender hit with suspension after falling off disciplinary tightrope

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Leeds United went into Tuesday night’s Championship clash against Watford knowing that three key defenders were all walking a disciplinary tightrope.

Joe Rodon, Junior Firpo and Jayden Bogle are all first-choice members of Daniel Farke’s backline, but the trio all began the match against the Hornets on four yellow cards apiece.

Championship rules dictate that any player who picks up five bookings before the 19th match of the season will be handed an automatic one-match ban, meaning three defenders could not afford another caution until the December 7 cut-off point against Derby County if they were able to successfully navigate ther disciplinary tightropes.

The match against Tom Cleverley’s side got off to an eventful start, with Leeds scoring twice in the first ten minutes as Largie Ramazani and then Brendan Aaronson were both beneficiaries of errors from Hornets goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.

Junior Firpo picks up fifth yellow

Leeds’ blockbuster start then faded, as Ramazani was soon forced off with an injury, while the visitors pulled a goal back shortly after half-time through through Kwadwo Baah.

Leeds then suffered a further blow just before the hour, when Junior Firpo got the booking he was looking to avoid when he stuck out an arm to check Festy Ebosele.

That means the left-back will have to sit out Saturday’s lunchtime trip to Bristol City and Farke will have to make a change to what has been an extremely settled back-four who have all started each of the club’s 11 Championship games this season.

Daniel Farke’s left-back options following Junior Firpo suspension

Left-back has often been a problem position for Leeds United in recent years, but Firpo’s form over the past 12 months has seen him nail down the position.

The Dominican Republic international’s absence may open the door for summer signing Issac Schmidt to make his first start for the club, following three cameos off the bench.

Max Wober, who can also play at left-back, is recovering from injury, while Pascal Struijk also has experience in the position, but Farke is unlikely to want to disrupt his partnership with Rodon in central defence. Sam Byram is another option that the United boss could turn to.