Daniel Farke was to make a late decision on the Leeds United star ahead of this evening's Premier League game against West Ham.
Leeds United winger Noah Okafor has hinted at his availability for this evening’s game against West Ham via social media.
Okafor missed last weekend’s disappointing 2-0 defeat at Burnley with an adductor injury and remains doubtful going into another huge bottom-of-the-table clash. As of Wednesday afternoon, neither the 25-year-old nor fellow winger Willy Gnonto - who underwent hernia surgery earlier this month - had completed a full training session.
Leeds boss Daniel Farke suggested Okafor was the more likely of that pair to feature this evening, given his shorter layoff compared to Gnonto, who hasn’t played since mid-September. The Italian had previously been struggling with calf problems before going under the knife.
"In personnel terms we have to take some late decisions, we have a few problems in the offence in terms of availability," said Farke. "Noah Okafor and Willy Gnonto are making some good progress but were not able to complete the whole team training this week so far. We'll take some late decisions. Perhaps a bit more realistic for Noah to be involved, he wasn't out for as long as Willy."
Ahead of last weekend’s trip to Turf Moor, Okafor confirmed his absence via an Instagram story post in which he simply wrote ‘back soon’ alongside a picture of him celebrating at Wolves. And the Swiss winger has taken to social media again today, albeit with a much more promising post.
Okafor instead posted a matchday graphic that is typical of several Leeds first-team players on game day, the type usually shared by those set to feature. There is no message on the Instagram story post but it’s certainly encouraging, given Farke believed he had a chance of being in the squad.
Noah Okafor return could be a huge boost for Leeds United
The return to fitness of Okafor would be a major boost for Leeds, who sorely missed their summer signing’s attacking quality at Burnley. Farke was left with little option but to start Brenden Aaronson and Jack Harrison on either side, with both missing chances and failing to impress in the final third.
Okafor has been Leeds’ most dangerous attacker and is their top-scorer currently with two goals, already gelling well with attacking left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson and Anton Stach on the left of midfield. Dan James could also be fit enough to get more minutes, having come off the bench at Turf Moor.
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Elsewhere, Ethan Ampadu and Pascal Struijk both posted similar matchday graphics on their Instagram stories, a suggestion both could have recovered from illness. Farke revealed on Wednesday the pair had missed training on Wednesday.
"A few struggling with illnesses," said Farke. "Ethan Ampadu and Pascal Struijk missed team training today, so question marks about their availability. We'll see who will be available and who we will pick."
Leeds are close to entering must-win territory this evening, particularly after losing in such disappointing fashion to relegation rivals Burnley. This evening’s visitors West Ham suffered a miserable 2-0 defeat at home to Brentford on Monday night and have just one victory to their name all season.
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