Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke hopes to have Isaac Schmidt available for Saturday's trip to Queens Park Rangers but might not know his starting XI until the morning of the game.
Though Farke has had no reports of fresh injuries after the 2-0 win over Millwall on Wednesday night, the quick turnaround to be ready to face QPR in an early kick-off will make for late decisions on who will start. The manager said after the victory that there was ‘no chance’ Joe Rothwell could start three games in six days and the midfielder came off with a stiff knee towards the end but the plan was to have him in the ice bath in the hope he’d be available again for consideration.
"There is no injury concern, more or less each and every player who was involved yesterday seems to be available for the squad for this game," said Farke. "Isaac Schmidt felt unwell [and missed Millwall], but he was also back in training today and could be a topic for the squad. As it stands I hope I have that whole group plus Isaac Schmidt to pick from for the travelling squad.
"In terms of the starting line-up and who has recovered, we'll make some late decisions. This turnaround is a bit more tricky. We had more or less 80 hours to recover for Millwall, this time around just over 60 hours. It will be a bit more tricky. Travelling is involved of course. We'll take some objective data, some recovery data and pick the starting line-up very late tomorrow evening or perhaps even on the morning of the game so some really late decisions."
READ: Why Farke’s midfield does not pick itself despite Rothwell’s offensive fireworks
Farke says the medical team interjected this week to advise him that Schmidt should sit out the Millwall game and will present him with opinions based on the data between now and Saturday but when it comes to selecting the team for QPR he will make the final judgements.
"They are always worried and give some warnings and mostly I ignore them if I'm honest and just pick the team," quipped the German. "Of course I take into account what is necessary, they are a bit more careful sometimes but I wouldn't do anything stupid if someone was a major risk. Yesterday they were a bit concerned about Isaac because he was unwell and needed to do some tests and everyone advised come on it makes no sense to take him in the squad. I totally trust Henry [McStay] and our medical team and I listen to them. They support present data and opinion about recovery status, but in the end it's still my responsibility to take the calls. If it doesn't work then I can't blame them. It's just me who is to blame."
Trusting players to be honest about how recovered and ready they are is a complicated science because Farke admits they will never ask to sit out but he believes he's experienced enough to judge and if rotation is necessary he insists he's well versed in difficult decisions.
He said: "When I ask a player tomorrow are you ready to go again I've not one time heard 'no, no I would like to sit on the bench.' You need experience and an eye to see how they're moving in training. When I look deep in the eyes of someone they don't lie so they can't hide. Sometimes it's a gut feeling. We have rotated a lot during this season, taken difficult decisions to leave a red-hot player out like Willy at the start of the season, or later on Daniel James or Manor Solomon. It's always tricky."
Get yourLeeds Unitedpodcast fix with Inside Elland Road; in-depth discussion on everything happening at Leeds with Joe Donnohue and Graham Smyth
Away from the squad, captain Ethan Ampadu has taken further steps forward in his attempt to return from a serious knee injury. Leeds hope to avoid the need for surgery and Ampadu is back out on the grass, in boots, and starting to work with the football rather than just running. Farke's hope is that all continues to go well and the Welsh international can play a part in the last few fixtures.
"Rehab looks good, he's progressing and doing some work with our rehab coach Ruben on the pitch, already in football boots, starting a little bit with the ball," said Farke.
"We hope on the other side of the international break he'll join us in team training. We'll see how long it takes. If he can join us pretty soon, Ethan is normally a player who doesn't need too many sessions in team training to be ready for the games. He could be there for the last five or six games, we'll see. It would be a major boost if we would have our captain back."
Related topics:Queens Park RangersEthan AmpaduDaniel Farke
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.