Daniel Farke will be relieved after what happened to Ao Tanaka on international duty with Japan

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Alongside Mateo Joseph, Ao Tanaka was the other Leeds United player in international action on Thursday.

Joseph could not have asked for a better night’s work after netting a first half hattrick on his full debut for Spain U21s in a 4-3 victory over Kazakhstan.

Leeds are once again the side with the most international representatives in the Championship and so Daniel Farke will be hoping they are managed carefully to ensure there are no more injuries.

During the September break, Leeds lost Max Wober to a pretty serious knee injury, of which he has had to undergo surgery on. It may not be until after the November internationals that he returns.

Ethan Ampadu, Dan James, Manor Solomon and Ilia Gruev have also been unable to jet off with their country, but Farke will be feeling relieved at Japan’s use of Tanaka last night.

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Farke relief at how Japan used Leeds star Tanaka

Midfield is the one position on the pitch Leeds simply cannot afford any more injuries after losing both Gruev and Ampadu long-term.

The onus is now on Tanaka and Joe Rothwell to stay fit and perform at a consistent level until January, which is the very earliest Ampadu could return.

It is certainly going to be a big ask for Tanaka and Rothwell to do that, particularly for the former. While Rothwell gets the chance to recharge the batteries during international breaks, Tanaka is jetting off across the world with Japan, which is far from ideal recovery.

However, Farke can at least take solace in Japan’s use of Tanaka on Thursday night, with the Leeds star not even getting off the bench in a 2-0 win at Saudi Arabia.

At the very least, Tanaka is currently behind both Liverpool’s Wataru Endo and Sporting Club de Portugal’s Hidemasa Morita in the pecking order for a place in midfield, a partnership manager Hajime Moriyasu seems to rarely revert away from.

If Tanaka does play in Japan’s next match against Australia on Tuesday, at least he will not be returning to Leeds with a completely empty tank, as he will have had the best part of two weeks without playing following the 2-2 draw at Sunderland.

That said, hopefully Tanaka is also sporadically by Japan next week, so the only thing he will have to contend with upon his return to Leeds is jet lag.

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Will Leeds sign a free agent midfielder?

As mentioned, the pressure is going to be on both Tanaka and Rothwell to play pretty much every match, but Leeds are looking at free agents.

Former West Ham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate is among those Leeds are looking at.

Kouyate has 291 Premier League appearances under his belt across his career, and so would add a wealth of experience to a young Leeds squad.

With the ability to play at centre-back as well as in midfield, Kouyate is arguably the ideal free agent signing. However, it will depend on his fitness.