Football League World
·19 de dezembro de 2024
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·19 de dezembro de 2024
More injuries at the back continue to plague Daniel Farke's side.
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has said that Pascal Struijk's availability to face Oxford United will be a "50/50" call, and provided an update on Max Wober's fitness.
Leeds just can't seem to keep a fully fit defence together. Whether it's at full-back or in the middle, United players are just going down with fitness problems so often.
They've only just got back their captain and central defensive option Ethan Ampadu. Junior Firpo was recently ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring problem, and now they have two more injury worries at the back.
The Leeds manager revealed in his pre-Oxford press conference that the Austrian probably won't be fit enough to face the currently managerless U's after making his first start for the club this season versus Middlesbrough.
Wober has been previously linked with a move away from Elland Road, with RB Salzburg named as an option, but that has recently been ruled out by one of their chiefs.
On the chances of Wober playing this weekend, Farke said, via the Yorkshire Evening Post: "It (Middlesbrough) was the first game in the starting line-up for Max. A lot of load because he played 75 minutes in the other game (versus Derby County). His knee was swollen and we didn’t want to take any risk.
"Sadly there was a little setback in training. He had to sit out with knee problems and was not able to train today. A tight race for him. He’s probably not available for this game.
"Disappointed for him, a tough first part of the season for him. We hope it's not too bad. There is a small chance he’s available but at the moment it's more likely he's not involved."
As for his Dutch teammate, there are also concerns with him. Farke has said that there is a 50 percent chance of him being available on Saturday.
"There are also concerns about Pascal Struijk," the boss revealed. "He is struggling with tightness in his hamstrings. Wasn't training yesterday or today. To be available, he needs to train tomorrow. At the moment, our medical team gives him a 50/50 chance. Scan is not too mad but he’s a major doubt."
Farke has stated that he's not expecting a mega-busy window for Leeds. Given the current state of his defensive options, that attitude should have changed.
United shouldn't be short of money. Leeds made £113 million from the sales of Archie Gray, Glen Kamara, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville in the summer. They have proved that they have plenty of firepower in attack, so they don't need to bolster there. But if these fitness woes at the other end of the pitch continue to plague them, it could really hurt their promotion push.