Lee Grant confirms frustrating Huddersfield Town news - "complete disaster" avoided though | OneFootball

It’s not the news Huddersfield Town would have wanted ahead of a big clash against Bradford City coming up

Huddersfield Town manager Lee Grant has confirmed that centre-back Jack Whatmough will miss his side’s upcoming derby against Bradford City.

The defender was withdrawn by Grant at half-time in the Terriers’ last outing against Peterborough United as a precautionary measure.

Grant has now revealed how long he expects to be without one of his primary centre-backs.

It comes as Huddersfield are set to face West Yorkshire rivals Bradford in a league game for the first time in almost 19 years, with both sides flying high in League One so far this season.

Lee Grant explains Jack Whatmough injury blow for Huddersfield Town

The Terriers boss has revealed that Whatmough is likely to miss up to four weeks with a calf issue that arose during Peterborough’s visit.

“It looks like we will be without Jack for a period,” Grant revealed, as quoted by The Yorkshire Post. “I think, in terms of the timing, we managed to get him off the field at the right time and not make it a complete disaster.

“But I think we will lose Jack, probably for a few weeks, and it’s a disappointment for him and of course, for us and the squad.

"His calf tightened up during the game, and it looks like we’ll probably be without out for three weeks, four weeks, we’ll see.

"We managed to get him off the field at the right time, but he definitely felt something, and the scan showed as much. It’s disappointing for the player.”

It's likely that Whatmough will be replaced by Murray Wallace, who came on in place of the ex-Preston North End defender in the 3-2 win over Peterborough last weekend.

And, while Grant is clearly relieved that Whatmough is not poised to be out injured for too long, a hectic September schedule awaits, meaning he will miss a number of outings.

As per the Terriers head coach's timescale, Whatmough will be expected to be absent for league matches against Burton Albion, Exeter City and Stockport County, along with the EFL Trophy trip to fellow West Yorkshire side Harrogate Town and, of course, Town's mouth-watering EFL Cup third round home tie with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City on September 24.

Lee Grant deserves praise for long-term thinking with Jack Whatmough at Huddersfield Town

The Terriers went in at the break 1-0 down following a goal from teenager Jimmy-Jay Morgan, an unexpected turn of events given the Posh sit at the bottom of the table, with Huddersfield near the top.

In those circumstances, managers would usually be more inclined to shift their attacking pack, rather than have to use up a substitution to take off one of their key defenders.

Upon being told by Whatmough that he’d felt something in his leg, many bosses may have asked him to just give it another 20 minutes, or to push through the pain barrier, but Grant acted decisively and listened to his player.

Scans now show how important a call that was, as to play on an already injured leg could have resulted in a much more serious lay-off.

What’s more, Huddersfield went on to win the match courtesy of second-half goals from Will Alves, Herbie Kane and Joe Taylor.

As Grant’s first posting as a number one, the footballing world is still forming their opinion on the former goalkeeper as a manager; his handling of this situation certainly won’t do him any harm.

Whatmough will be a miss at Bradford City for Huddersfield Town

Nevertheless, Grant will be gutted that he will not be able to select Whatmough for the upcoming derby against Bradford.

As one of the club’s key summer signings, having dropped down after a few solid seasons in the Championship, he is the sort of senior figure all managers want in their squad heading into a febrile venue like Valley Parade.

That’s not to mention the fact that the recently promoted side have raced out of the blocks in League One, storming to fifth in the table, just one point behind the Terriers.