As Leeds United’s internationals jetted out to represent their countries, Daniel Farke was already counting down the days until their return.
Like a worried father waiting for his beloved sons to return from the trenches of World War One, Farke is praying that they all return in one piece. If only the Leeds boss could wield a Sir Alex Ferguson-level of power over the national federations.
No fewer than eight Leeds United players could feature between now and Wednesday. Ao Tanaka has already played for Japan in a 2-0 victory over Bahrain. Ilia Gruev was part of the Bulgaria team beaten by Ireland, while Isaac Schmidt impressed on his Switzerland debut.
But as Willy Gnonto was forced off for Italy’s Under-21s – he departed just before the break in a 2-1 defeat by the Netherlands – Farke’s worst fears appeared to come true.
The Leeds United boss now faces an anxious wait over Gnonto’s fitness ahead of the final eight games of the Championship season. On the other hand, however, there is much more positive news regarding another Elland Road favourite who caused a few hearts to flutter this week; Junior Firpo.
Junior Firpo fears addressed as Leeds United sweat on Willy Gnonto
It emerged before the Dominican Republic played out a 2-2 draw with Puerto Rico on Friday that Leeds’ in-form left-back Junior Firpo would not feature during that friendly clash at the Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel.
Why? Well, the local media didn’t really elaborate on that.
Could Firpo be joining Gnonto on the treatment table back at Thorp Arch? After Firpo’s sudden goalscoring form earned him ‘world-class’ billing – and after Gnonto made a massive impact at QPR off the bench in a number ten role – would Farke be without two key players for the run-in?
While the extent of Gnonto’s injury is yet to be established, the good news is that Junior Firpo is expected to feature for the Dominican Republic when they host Puerto Rico for the return fixture early next week.
According to El Nacional, Firpo is due to link up with Marcelo Neveleff’s squad for that March 26th outing.
Dominican Republic boss drops Junior Firpo fitness hint
Furthermore, when head coach Neveleff listed the players who were unavailable due to injury, it’s telling that Firpo’s name did not come up. Farke, it appears, can breath a sigh of relief, at least with the former Barcelona full-back.
“Last-minute injuries, unfortunately, Edison [Azcona] had a strain last night,” Neveleff explains. “And yesterday, Many Rodriguez also had another strain in his calf.
“So we prefer, for their safety and also to bring in players who are 100 per cent fit, to leave them out so they can recover with their teams.”
Last week, Neveleff appeared to confirm that Firpo would feature at least once during the international break. Perhaps, after playing so many games in such a short space of time at Leeds, he felt the out-of-contract full-back needed a bit of a break.
“With [striker Mariano Diaz] and Firpo, if they’re at their best, we have every chance,” he said.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
