Monday’s trip to Championship title rivals Burnley will obviously come too soon, but there was still an almighty sigh of relief from everyone at Leeds United when Daniel Farke provided an update on Pascal Struijk’s fitness.
Speaking ahead of that trip to Turf Moor, Farke confirmed that Struijk could return to Leeds’ training pich as early as next week.
The defender recently underwent a scan on an injury which, some had feared, would keep him out for around three months. But with the results proving to be ‘very good’ indeed, to quote the Leeds United boss himself, Struijk’s absence will fortunately be a case of weeks rather than months.
Farke is confident that Manor Solomon will be fit to start against Burnley too, while Brenden Aaronson also recovered in time to play in the 2-0 midweek win over Norwich City.
Add in the recent returns of Max Wober, Ethan Ampadu and Junior Firpo, and Leeds’ injury situation certainly looks positive ahead of those daunting, potentially season-deciding clashes with Burnley, Sunderland, Sheffield United and West Brom.
Junior Firpo back for Leeds United amid Real Betis links
Over in Spain, Real Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini has not been quite so lucky.
While former Leeds midfielder Marc Roca may be returning after three months on the sidelines, Betis lined up without a senior full-back in their selection in Saturday’s early La Liga kick-off away at Real Mallorca.
Marc Bartra, a centre-half by trade, started on the right. And on the left was Sergio Arribas Prieto, the club’s number 57 promoted from the reserve team.
Betis’ usual left-back, ex-Southampton flyer Romain Perraud, is suspended. Veteran Swiss international Ricardo Rodriguez also faces up to a month out of action, thus thrusting 21-year-old Arribas Prieto into the fray.
Real Betis have already turned to West Yorkshire twice to bring in both Roca and Diego Llorente. Speculation suggests Leeds’ Junior Firpo could be on his way back to Spain as well.
Firpo’s contract expires in the summer, after all. And, according to reports in Andalusia, Real Betis are keen to reunite with a player who graduated from their academy before moving to England via a spell at Barcelona.
Now, Pellegrini would not be drawn specifically on those Firpo links in his pre-Mallorca press conference.
And while he insists that Betis will bounce back from a far-from positive situation – they are 12th in the table as well as enduring a selection crisis with Gio Lo Celso, Pablo Fornals, Chimi Avila and William Carvalho also unavailable – a sudden absence of all first-team left-backs will surely only strengthen their resolve when it comes to putting Firpo back in that familiar green and white jersey.
“Until something is official, it’s not wise to comment on players who may or may not join us,” the former Real Madrid, West Ham and Manchester City manager said. “We will see whether reinforcements arrive and who they will be.
“Every year, we face moments like this, even worse ones, and we have successfully overcome them, leaving them behind. These are specific challenges we must strive to surpass.”
Daniel Farke backs Firpo to play big role in promotion charge
A £13 million signing from the Camp Nou back in 2021, Firpo’s future remains uncertain with his 29th birthday only a few months away.
For the time being, however, Daniel Farke is just happy to have Leeds’ number three back available again following a spell on the sidelines of his own. Firpo was excellent off the bench against Norwich and played a major role in the construction of Dan James’ 65th minute clincher.
“Obviously, Junior is very important for us,” Farke smiled. “He had many assists and [good] end product when he was playing regularly.
“Now, he’s coming off an injury where he was away for six weeks and he desperately needs minutes, competitive minutes.
“I think he was good going forward [against Norwich]. He was involved in several good things. Transition moments, he could have reacted a bit quicker but overall an important 40 minutes for him to return to his best.
“The minutes will definitely help him. If Junior is back to his fitness level, he is a really, really good option.”
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