Leeds handed World Cup lift as Gabriel Gudmundsson nears Sweden opener after illness | OneFootball

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

Sweden face Tunisia in Guadalupe in the early hours of Monday, with kick-off at three am UK time. Gudmundsson’s involvement had been in doubt after he missed multiple training sessions through illness. Sweden Herald reports that head coach Graham Potter said everyone was available, adding that if Gudmundsson trained well he should be able to play.

The 27-year-old had only just returned from a five-week hamstring lay-off suffered in Leeds’ FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea in April. He got 63 minutes in a pre-tournament friendly draw with Greece before falling ill.

He could become one of the first Leeds players to feature at this World Cup, and there is an expectation he will start if fit enough. The left wing-back is Potter’s preferred option on that side, having started both qualifying play-off matches against Ukraine and Poland in March.

A few hours earlier, Japan play the Netherlands, with Ao Tanaka hoping to be the first Elland Road regular to see minutes. He is in the same group as Gudmundsson, with the pair scheduled to meet in the third and final group game. Brenden Aaronson and Noah Okafor were unused in their countries’ openers, the USA won 4-1 against Paraguay on Friday and Switzerland drew 1-1 with Qatar overnight.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk