This week has seen a lot of talk about the international break around Leeds United players. There was good news as two stars at Elland Road earned a place in the national team.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin returned to the England fold for the first time since 2021, and Julian Nagelsmann finally called up Anton Stach to the German National team. The duo have been two standouts from the club this season, and have rightfully been rewarded. Hopefully, they can play well enough to seal their place in the final squads for the World Cup.
But there was a bit of sad news as Noah Okafor was not named in the Switzerland squad, with national team boss Murat Yakin stating that it was due to an injury. The winger has been out since the FA Cup game against Birmingham City.
Leeds United star drops major update ahead of Brentford game
Okafor has been out for a while, with the team lacking his pace and directness in attack. With the update from Yakin, there was a bit of panic from the fans. But Daniel Farke gave an unexpected update of his own, saying that the winger could be available this weekend: ”[He’s] Better. Back in team training since the beginning of the week. Obviously he’s been out several weeks, the question is how many minutes he’s got in the tank, but he’s available.”
With two conflicting reports, it was difficult to figure out if he truly was going to be in action this weekend. But Noah Okafor himself has confirmed that he will play some part in this Saturday’s game. The winger posted some training videos on his Instagram story with the caption ‘See you tomorrow’. This all but confirms Farke’s update that he was in training this week and could feature against Brentford.
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Leeds have missed Noah Okafor
Okafor has had an up and down season, but his quality is undeniable. Since he played himself into Daniel Farke’s plans in January, he was in great form before he got interrupted with the injury in the FA Cup. The draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge shows exactly what the winger brings to the team. Leeds were struggling to get out of their half in that game, before Okafor came on and changed everything. His ability to stretch the game with his pace and dribbling is key, and none of the other options on the bench can provide that. Hopefully his return to action could spark something in attack at this point of the season.
| Competition | Games Played | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 23 | 4 | 0 |
| EFL Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| FA Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 27 | 4 | 1 |
