Football League World
·29 de noviembre de 2024
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·29 de noviembre de 2024
A niggle picked up against Luton Town in midweek could rule the full-back out of the trip to Ewood Park.
Daniel Farke has admitted that it will be a late call on whether Sam Byram is fit enough to travel with the Leeds United squad to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Leeds' full-back options were relatively short anyway, but a recent suspension picked up by Junior Firpo thinned Farke's choices in this area of the pitch even more.
He served the last of his three-game ban against Luton Town in midweek, when his deputy stepped up and shined. Byram netted the first goal of the evening with a lovely close-range scissor kick. They went on to win 3-0, taking themselves to the top of the Championship.
Unfortunately, just less than 15 minutes into the second half, Byram was withdrawn with a hamstring issue and was replaced by Max Wober.
With a relatively quick turnaround before this weekend's contest at Ewood Park, it's not clear whether the 31-year-old will be fit enough to feature in United's matchday squad against Blackburn.
The German boss is hopeful that the full-back will be fit enough to travel with the squad today (Friday 29th November). At the time of Farke's press conference, he was still waiting to know the severity of Byram's injury.
"He had a scan, we're still waiting for the results," the manager revealed, via the Yorkshire Evening Post. "It will be a tight call and a late decision. We have to wait a little bit and be patient.
"We have to take a decision if Sam is not available. I would prefer to have him as an option. He played excellent in his last game, important for our defensive stability and good possession. His experience, attacking and defending set-pieces, he's an important player for us.
"I hope he's available but we'll find good solutions and whoever gets the nod has the chance to shine."
As one is potentially out, another one of Leeds' players is making his way back to full fitness. Summer signing Largie Ramazani featured in a match for the first time since injuring his ankle in a 2-1 win over Watford, just over five weeks ago.
With him, Dan James, Wilfried Gnonto and Manor Solomon, Farke has plenty to choose from in the wide attacking areas, which is lucky for him as he has stated that Ramazani is not at the point where he could start a game.
He said: "I was happy to be able to give him his 10 minutes. He showed some glimpses that he's an important player and once he's back to full fitness a top class player for us.
"He needs a bit of time. He won't be a topic for the starting line-up (against Blackburn) but to have a player with a little bit of magic who can create something out of nothing is a good option to have on the bench. The two days in training will help him perhaps to be ready for a bit more than 10 minutes."
Every time one of United's flank defenders goes down with a knock or gets suspended, there's always a nervous wait until they get back because of their lack of depth in this area. They are actually lucky that they have someone like Byram that is versatile enough to play on either the left or the right.
Isaac Schmidt doesn't appear to be trusted enough by Farke to be a starting option if needs be, so that should leave Leeds with no other choice but to go and acquire someone who the boss can put his full faith in.