Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke delivered a frustrating injury update in his pre-match press conference ahead of Monday's clash with Manchester United in the Premier League.
The Whites will be without central midfielder Anton Stach after he sustained an ankle injury during the first half of the FA Cup quarter-final clash with West Ham United last weekend.
Central defender Joe Rodon, meanwhile, remains out through and will not return until May, which is also the case for the former Hoffenheim midfielder.
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That means that Stach and Rodon could miss three Premier League matches and the FA Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea at Wembley in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, Farke also revealed that Gabriel Gudmundsson, Noah Okafor, and Jaka Bijol are all doubts for Monday's trip to Old Trafford in the league.
Why Noah Okafor being out would be a big blow for Leeds
It would be a big blow for Leeds if Okafor is ruled out for the game against Manchester United, because Lukas Nmecha's recent form has been far from impressive.
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The Germany international has failed to score in all of the last seven games in all competitions, despite starting the last four matches, and has only scored one Premier League goal since January.
Okafor, meanwhile, has racked up two goals and two assists in his last five appearances for the Whites in all competitions, including goals in games against Nottingham Forest and Chelsea.
The Switzerland international, therefore, has been a far more effective foil for Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the front two in recent months than Nmecha, because he has offered a greater threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
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With Leeds fighting to avoid relegation straight back down to the Championship, losing the goals and assists that Okafor can provide in the final third would be a big blow.
How Daniel Farke can replace Noah Okafor without playing Lukas Nmecha
The German head coach does not have to play Nmecha ahead of Okafor in the front two alongside Calvert-Lewin, though, as he could get creative instead.
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Farke can ease the potential blow of losing the Swiss star through injury by unleashing Wilfried Gnonto in a fresh role up front to be his new Georginio Rutter.
During his time at Elland Road, Rutter was a mix between a centre-forward and an attacking midfielder, dropping back from a striker position to use his technical quality and creativity to provide a spark in the final third.
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Gnonto has played in one of the two striker positions this season, but only as a substitute, which means that it would be a new role for him to play the position from the start against Manchester United.
His cameos in that role in the past, such as off the bench against Liverpool at Elland Road, mean that he should be able to slot in without too many positional issues, making him an interesting option to call upon.
The Italian star has yet to score a goal in the Premier League this season, after scoring nine goals last term, but he has delivered three assists in his 21 appearances in all competitions.
Like Rutter, who failed to hit double figures for goals at Leeds, Gnonto has provided an impressive amount of creativity during his time with the Whites.
|Wilfried Gnonto's creativity for Leeds|
|Season|Assists per 90|Rank vs wingers|
|---|
|25/26 Premier League|0.24|Top 16%|
|24/25 Championship|0.24|Top 18%|
|23/24 Championship|0.11|Bottom 45%|
|22/23 Premier League|0.27|Top 18%|
Aside from the 2023/24 Championship season, the Italy U21 international has consistently been one of the most creative wingers in the second tier or Premier League, given the minutes played.
This suggests that there is untapped potential in Gnonto at the moment, because he has not started a Premier League game since November and is yet to start a game up front, and Farke could tap in to that potential by unleashing him as Okafor's replacement.
gnonto-birmingham-leeds
Starting Gnonto over Nmecha may give the Whites more creativity at the top end of the pitch, which could benefit Calvert-Lewin and improve the team's chances of coming away from Old Trafford with a positive result.
The creativity that the Italian could provide as a striker could make him look like Farke's new Rutter, who was a constant creative threat up front for the German in the 2023/24 season.
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