Leeds United left-back Junior Firpo has declared himself available to feature in tonight’s friendly against AS Monaco.
The update comes after a period of sustained injury for the Domenican-born Spaniard which has seen him play only 114 Premier League minutes so far this season.
Even when available for selection, Firpo has found himself relegated to the bench due to the impressive performances of Pascal Struijk, who has made the left-back position his own despite being a natural centre-back.
Firpo’s only start this term came in a 2-0 defeat to Leicester in October due to Struijk’s absence from the match day squad.
A club statement released earlier this month [4 December] declared Firpo injured once again with a groin issue prior to the team travelling to Spain to participate in a mid-season training camp.
Firpo was one of several injury absentees spotted during an open training session held at Elland Road yesterday [20 December].
Following on from the session, the 26-year-old took to Instagram to state his eligibility for tonight’s friendly against Ligue 1 outfit Monaco:
“No place like home, see you tomorrow,” the message read.
A start
On the list of currently injured players at Leeds, Firpo will be the last of those figures who fans are dying to see return to action.
Still, it’s a start; in a league where squad depth is critical another fit body can’t hurt.
It would be good to see Firpo have a prolonged injury-free period so he can start showing what he can bring to coach Jesse Marsch’s system and, more importantly, that he is worth the €15m the club spent on him during the summer of 2021.
Firpo will be hoping to impress against Monaco tonight in a bid to spark a potential renaissance at Leeds during the second half of the season.
