Leeds handed World Cup lift as Gabriel Gudmundsson illness fears ease | OneFootball

Leeds United have been handed a World Cup lift, with Gabriel Gudmundsson appearing to have recovered from illness for Sweden’s opener tonight. Leeds are yet to see any of their players feature at the tournament.

Sweden face Tunisia in Guadalupe at 3am UK time on Monday. The Sweden Herald quoted head coach Graham Potter as saying: "Everyone is available. If he [Gudmundsson] does well in training today, he should be able to play."

The left-back had sat out multiple training sessions due to illness. He had only just returned from a five-week hamstring lay-off suffered in April’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea, then played 63 minutes in a draw with Greece before becoming unwell.

Gudmundsson could be among the first Leeds players to feature at this World Cup, with the expectation he will start if fit enough. He is Potter’s preferred option at left wing-back, having started both qualifying play-off matches against Ukraine and Poland in March.

A few hours earlier, Japan face the Netherlands, with Ao Tanaka aiming to become the first Elland Road regular to see minutes. He is in the same group as Gudmundsson, the pair scheduled to meet in the third and final group game.

Brenden Aaronson and Noah Okafor were unused in their nations’ opening fixtures. The USA beat Paraguay 4-1 on Friday, while Switzerland drew 1-1 with Qatar overnight.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk