Leeds United v RB Leipzig - Pre-Season Friendly
LEEDS, ENGLAND - AUGUST 8: Daniel James of Leeds United during the during the pre-season friendly match between Leeds United and RB Leipzig at Elland Road on August 8, 2026 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
A couple of Leeds United players are trying to shake off injuries ahead of the game against Arsenal on Saturday.
In his press conference, Daniel Farke confirmed that Joe Rodon is still rehabbing his hamstring injury, so he will definitely miss the game at the weekend.
But Jean-Matteo Bahoya and Harry Wilson are in training ahead of the Arsenal game. However, Farke stressed that we will have to see how their bodies react before deciding to involve them in the matchday squad.
Whilst we knew those three players were carrying knocks, Farke also dropped some more bombshell injury news.
Daniel Farke confirms Dan James to miss Arsenal game with back injury
With Bahoya and Wilson seemingly not fully fit, it looked like it would be the perfect opportunity for Dan James to position himself for more Premier League minutes.
Especially after James featured in three out of four of Wales’ Nations League fixtures and scored in his most recent appearance against Norway.
However, this is no longer a possibility, as Farke confirmed in his pre-game press conference that James has sustained a back injury.
“Daniel James will miss the Arsenal game, so he is out with a back injury. He came back with this back injury, more or less, from his national team, and for that he is not available for this game,” Farke said, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
There’s plenty of scepticism among our fanbase as to whether James is good enough to contribute for us at Premier League level. It’s a fair enough debate to have, and personally I don’t think he is.
Through his 22 Premier League appearances since our promotion, he’s yet to register a goal or assist. But one thing is for certain: consistent injuries over the last year or so certainly won’t have helped him, and now you’ve got to feel for him as James has sustained yet another injury.
49ers must be ruthless with Dan James
If James doesn’t force a move away, there may have been the temptation to keep the Welshman around as purely a rotation option for Farke.
But at 28, with two years left on his deal and over a season’s worth of injury struggles and lacklustre form, the 49ers have a rapidly depreciating asset on their hands.
Personally, I wouldn’t be looking to move James on in January, but I certainly would next summer. Especially if these injury troubles persist.
The 49ers will never reclaim the £25million we paid for James back in 2021, but if we don’t sell him sooner rather than later, we’ll lose him for peanuts.
In our promotion-winning campaign in 2024/25, James was injured for a total of 49 days, which saw him miss 10 games for club and country.
Last season, James’ number of days injured increased substantially. The winger was out for 108 days in total and missed 18 games. (Transfermarkt)
Now, this season, he’s already injured again. We know players with explosive pace tend to be more susceptible to injuries, and now it looks as though James’ body is beginning to break down.
Surely this is something the 49ers consider when deciding what to do with the speedster moving forward.