The injury issues are starting to mount up ahead of the busy Christmas period at Leeds United and another player limped off against Manchester City on Saturday, in James Justin.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to The Etihad, Daniel Farke confirmed three players would miss the clash. Anton Stach is observing concussion protocols, while Sean Longstaff could miss six weeks with a calf problem.
Who was your Leeds MOTM against Manchester City?
Manchester City v Leeds United - Premier League
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Sebastiaan Bornauw is also struggling with an MCL problem, the third occurrence of the same injury just this season after Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka suffered the same injury in the first few league matches.
On Saturday, James Justin was handed his first Premier League start for Leeds after his £10m move from Leicester City. But he suffered a knock on 64 minutes, and was then replaced by Gabriel Gudmundsson.
James Justin v Man City.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Justin escapes injury as Farke confirms pre-match plan
Justin had been given a start after Gudmundsson came in for some criticism, with many goals conceded by Leeds of late coming down the Swede’s flank. After 40 seconds, Phil Foden scored from Leeds’ left.
But Justin held his own, showing why he deserved a start on Saturday. Speaking in his press conference after the game, Farke confirmed that the plan was to take him off at this time, and it was an impact injury.
“Okay, obviously it was his first time in the starting line-up in a while. It was always the plan around 60 minutes to get him off. He was struggling with a little hit, so no injury concerns. All okay,” Farke said.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
Impressive James Justin stats for Leeds United against Man City 📊
69 minutes played, 6.2 FotMob rating (fourth-worst of Leeds starting XI)
Five defensive contributions
37 touches, 21/28 successful passes (75%)
One interception, two blocks, two recoveries
Dribbled past: 0
Duels won: 4, Duels lost: 0
Should James Justin retain his place against Chelsea?
It has become well-known that Gudmundsson is an excellent left-back, but he is guilty of a clanger. His header against Fulham, his mistake against Spurs, his touch leading to Aston Villa’s winning free-kick.
Even for Sweden this season, Gudmundsson underhit a backpass and Switzerland scored in a 4-1 win during Graham Potter’s first game. There is no doubt that at £10m, Leeds have signed a top left-back.
But it must also be said that plenty of goals have come down his side. Whether that be due to Noah Okafor’s lack of defensive work – certainly, Okafor was at fault for Villa’s first – is one to debate.
What is certain, is that James gave a good account of himself against Man City and the former Leicester man will have provided Farke with a headache ahead of Wednesday night’s home clash against Chelsea.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox