Leeds United fans were surprised, and quite worried, to see that in demand centre-back Pascal Struijk wasn’t in the starting XI, or even on the bench, for the game against Hull City on Saturday.
Leeds United play away against Hull City on Saturday afternoon. For Daniel Farke’s side, it’s a must-win game against a Tigers side who’ve largely struggled this season.
Last time out, Leeds United drew with Blackburn Rovers and saw their lead at the top of the Championship table close to three points, with Burnley in 2nd and Sheffield United in 3rd as things stand.
At 2pm on Saturday, the Leeds XI to face Hull City was revealed. And it prompted quite a lot of discussion on social media with centre-back and key player Pascal Struijk nowhere to be seen, along with Patrick Bamford.
Why Pascal Struijk and Patrick Bamford were left out vs Hull City
The news on Struijk and Bamford was worrying because both players have been linked with moves away recently. Struijk is a target for Spurs and Bamford is wanted by Wrexham, so many fans quickly assumed that one, or both, were on their way out.
But it was quickly revealed that both were carrying knocks and were simply left out because of injury. Journalist Adam Pope shared on X that Bamford has a hamstring ‘issue’ and that Struijk is out with an ankle injury, though it’s not thought to be a serious injury.
Pope posted: “We hearing it’s a hamstring issue for Bamford. Struijk (ankle) was very close to making it but has not been passed fit.”
The Leeds United confirmed XI to face Hull City
From the Leeds XI that faced Blackburn Rovers on New Year’s Day, Farke has made two changes, with Ethan Ampadu coming in for Struijk.
Ampadu appears to have slotted into the middle of the defence with Joe Rodon, whilst Max Wober has replaced Sam Byram at left-back.
Leeds fan were critical of Byram after the last game against Rovers and Farke will hope that the left-footed Wober adds more balance to the team.
Besides those changes in defence, the rest of the starting XI is unchanged from Blackburn.
The Leeds United XI to face Hull City: Meslier, Bogle, Wober, Rodon, Ampadu, Rothwell, Tanaka, James, Aaronson, Solomon, Piroe
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