Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has provided an injury update on the status of several players within his squad as he prepares to face his former side, Norwich City, this Saturday.
The Whites make the journey to Carrow Road with the ambition of continuing their Championship winning streak, with back-to-back home victories against QPR and Bristol City being recorded before the international break.
Whilst the break for international action meant that the Elland Road faithful had to wait a fortnight to see their team play again, it did also bring the opportunity for the injured players within the Leeds squad to focus on their recovery and returning to full match fitness.
Farke began his pre-match press conference today with an update on those currently sidelined within his side, with Jamie Shackleton (shoulder), Wilfried Gnonto (ankle), Junior Firpo (knee), Djed Spence (knee) and Stuart Dallas’ (leg) respective injuries all being discussed.
In what will come as a significant boost to Leeds’ chances against the Canaries, Farke confirmed that Gnonto may be set for a role in Saturday’s 15:00 action after his return to full team training last Sunday. Shackleton also resumed training with the side earlier this week and will travel with the squad.
Firpo, Dallas, and Spence are all still out however, with Farke keen not to unnecessarily rush Firpo in particular – who is yet to complete a full week of squad training – back into action against Norwich.
“Some progress, Willy is back in team training since last Sunday. Looked sharp in training, he is a topic for the squad to travel with us,” Farke told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“Jamie Shackleton back in training since the beginning of this week. Junior Firpo is back in team training since Tuesday, he was part integrated. We have to still be careful a bit. The next step will be join us during the whole training week, then will need a few weeks to be ready. He is not a topic for Norwich.
“Stuart Dallas, he was out for such a long time, he’s part integrated, joined us in several parts of team training, sometimes he has to train individually or recover more. He definitely needs three or four full weeks before we can choose him.”
Farke will be hoping to come out on top against his former side in what promises to be a tough clash, with another three points helping maintain the positive momentum generated by Leeds’ results before the international break.
