Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has revealed injury news, which could be considered a body blow to their promotion hopes, ahead of their trip to Middlesbrough on Tuesday night. The Leeds boss will now have to find a way to get the team going without two major players.
The Leeds squad have been under pressure following a run of one win in six and are in desperate need of three points ahead of taking on Middlesbrough away from home.
Daniel Farke has been trying to get a tune out of his players amidst a run of poor form, and is aware that he could lose his job at the end of the season if Leeds do not get promoted.
However, the Leeds boss’ troubles have been compounded ahead of the Boro trip as two players are now confirmed to be out of action for a couple of weeks at least, if not more.
Daniel Farke to miss two major players
The Leeds boss revealed that Pascal Struijk and Joe Rothwell will be out for the next couple of weeks at least due to a foot and a calf injury respectively.
He admitted that Rothwell is likely to be back in action for the last two Championship games, but Struijk’s injury could be more serious.
Farke conceded that there is a fear that the defender has suffered a fracture, which will definitely end his season.
“We have more or less two problems”, Farke said in a press conference.
“One is Joe Rothwell – calf injury – he will definitely be out this week and probably also for the Easter Weekend.
“He will probably be back for the last two games; he could come back earlier, but that will be a bonus.
“Pascal Struijk will definitely miss the two games this week.
“We need to wait for further assessment, got a knock on his foot and there are fears that it could be a fracture, which means his season could be over.
“But we need further assessments before we can confirm.”
What are the solutions?
Max Wober has been training for the last two weeks, and could be an option to replace Struijk in the heart of the Leeds defence.
However, he is just returning from a knee surgery, and it is more likely that Ethan Ampadu will drop into the defence to partner Joe Rodon for the rest of the season.
Can you name the missing sponsor on these 10 Leeds United shirts?
Rothwell’s injury means Ilia Gruev will be back in the team, and be part of the midfield two with Ao Tanaka at Middlesbrough and the subsequent games.
These are two major injuries at the worst possible time for Leeds, but Farke has the options to bring in quality players to replace the duo.
