Leeds United are set to welcome back some of Daniel Farke’s injured players for Friday night’s clash against West Ham United under the Elland Road lights, but it’s not good news for the Hammers.
Dan James came off the bench for Leeds against Burnley, having overcome an ankle injury. The winger’s return was far ahead of schedule, with reports suggesting he might have been missing until November.
Willy Gnonto should be back in training after overcoming a calf injury and recovering from surgery to fix a hernia, while Lucas Perri has been training since last week and is now likely to be available to start.
But for West Ham, it isn’t good news. Nuno Espirito Santo watched his side lose to Brentford on Monday, and one player he used on the night picked up an injury. It meant West Ham finished with 10 men.
Nuno Espirito Santo looks on during West Ham's loss to Brentford.
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Nuno confirms £19m West Ham star to miss Leeds clash
With West Ham trailing to half-time to Brentford, Nuno made three half-time substitutions which saw Konstantinos Mavropanos enter the field of play. But the £19m signing was unable to finish the game.
It is unclear what has sidelined the Greece international, but Nuno confirmed after the game that West Ham will likely be without Mavropanos for the Leeds game and he could miss Newcastle after that.
“Probably for the next one [against Leeds], he is not going to be available. Hopefully for November 2nd [vs Newcastle United]. Let’s see,” Nuno reported, during his post-match West Ham press conference.
Konstantinos Mavropanos leaves West Ham's 2-0 loss to Brentford.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
West Ham likely to start with under-pressure duo at centre-back
With Mavropanos injured, Nuno will likely start the same centre-back combination he did in the defeat to Brentford. That will be Jean-Clair Todibo and Max Kilman, who struggled during the defeat to Brentford.
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West Ham fan site Hammers News gave both Todibo and Kilman a rating of 2/10 for their performances on Monday night, and perhaps that is an area Leeds can exploit at Elland Road come Friday night.
Leeds are expected to make changes, meanwhile. LeedsUnited.News predicts three in total, which will see Karl Darlow, Pascal Struijk and Brenden Aaronson come out of the side for Perri, Jaka Bijol and James.