Daniel Farke is preparing his Leeds United team for their Premier League opener against Everton at Elland Road on Monday night. However, it appears he could be without one of his most important players for the big game under the lights.
Leeds are preparing to return to Premier League football after a two-year absence, and there is expected to be a fervent atmosphere at Elland Road on Monday night as the great stadium prepares to welcome back top-flight action again after two seasons in the Championship.
Farke has a relatively clean bill of health ahead of the Everton game, apart from a selection headache at the heart of the team’s defence due to Jaka Bijol’s suspension. In fact, there is real intrigue about the make-up of the midfield due to the options the German has in his squad.
However, the Leeds boss does have a huge concern ahead of the game due to an injury to a key player, which could lead to a domino effect on the team’s performance on the opening night.
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Jayden Bogle seems unlikely to feature for Leeds United against Everton
Jayden Bogle sat out the last pre-season friendly against AC Milan due to a hip flexor issue, and Farke revealed that the defender returned to training with the rest of the squad.
The Leeds boss did insist a late call will be taken on his availability, depending on how his body reacts to training with the squad.
However, it seems he is unlikely to be in the squad for the Everton game as he was nowhere to be seen in the training footage the club put out.
A behind-the-scenes video which shows the Leeds squad being put through their paces in Thorp Arch was released on the club’s YouTube channel.
Bogle was not seen training with the rest of the Leeds squad, and it appears that he is unlikely to be fit enough to be in the squad on Monday night.
New signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin was also missing from the footage despite getting registered in time to feature against Everton.
Who replaces Bogle?
Farke has a decision to make on who replaces Bogle in the team, and it is a hard one as the former Sheffield United defender hardly missed a game last season.
Isaac Schmidt has been deployed at right-back during pre-season, but he is keen to leave Leeds amid interest from Werder Bremen.
Sam Byram is one more option, but there are question marks over whether he is good enough to do a job against quality Premier League wingers.
The paucity of options has led to the Whites trying to sign James Justin, but the Leicester defender’s injury has put that transfer in doubt.
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