Daniel Farke has revealed multiple setbacks for his Leeds United squad ahead of their match against Coventry City.
The Whites come into the game at Elland Road having won three of their last four games, only stumbling against Burnley. Last time out they comfortably beat bottom side Cardiff City in South Wales, with Largie Ramazani and Joel Piroe scoring against the ten-man Bluebirds.
But injuries have been building up in recent weeks ahead of Coventry’s visit, with Max Wober a key player missing. He returned from international duty with Austria injured, and has not featured since playing Slovenia at the start of September.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of the game, Daniel Farke provided the latest injury update for his side, saying (Quotes via Yorkshire Evening Post): “Sadly we have a few injury updates and also some problems this week.
“Manor Solomon is out for this game. He had some back problems, has resulted in a problem with his hamstring. Hope to have him back for the last game before the international break, perhaps for Norwich City.
“Dan James is still out. If he’s available in one of the games before it will be a bonus but I expect him back after int’l break. Wober will also miss this game, there was a setback in training last week on Friday. That was the reason he wasn’t in the matchday squad. Ongoing problems with his knee.
“Our medical department tries everything to make sure we find a solution in a conservative way. Pascal Struijk was struggling a bit with his adductors, Junior Firpo has a few problems but was back in training today after missing earlier this week. Bamford missed a training session yesterday after he got a hit but was back on the training pitch today.”
Firpo was the only one to play against Cardiff last weekend, playing the full 90 minutes. Bamford was named in the squad that travelled but was not brought onto the pitch.
Tottenham Hotspur loanee Solomon last featured in the loss to Burnley, being subbed off 12 minutes before time to hand Ramazani just his second appearance for the club. Farke gave him a first start against City, where he opened the scoring half an hour in with a shot from outside the 18-yard box past Jak Alnwick.
The blows to Wober and Strujik make United light in the heart of the defence, but Farke alleviated the concern, adding: “We would also have other options, I’m pleased with how James Debayo develops. It’s also a proper solution to have Joe [Rodon] and Ethan [Ampadu] playing together.
“I’m still carefully optimistic with Pascal and still hopeful he’ll be capable to play. It’s a pity Max is not available. If they were both to miss, we have some solutions.”
Writer’s View
Leeds United are now being hit hard by injuries but it is still not enough to cause panic at Elland Road. Farke’s side have the best depth in the Championship so losing key figures like Dan James, Max Wober and Pascal Struijk may be blows, they do have the cover to replace them in the short-term. They still have all the tools necessary to beat Coventry City this weekend and based on the form charts should be able to do that.
Mark Robins’ side have had a tough time this season, but have arguably been unlucky in their results. They were dominant in front of goal at Swansea City but could just not find a way to score barring an own goal from Ronald Pereira. It has been a similar story against Watford and Norwich City, so with Leeds’ defensive line somewhat weakened, this game could be the opportunity for Ellis Simms and co to get firing once more.
Football journalist with The Real EFL since 2023. A 2024 Multimedia Journalism graduate from the University of Salford, Lewis specialises in Salford City FC and EFL coverage.
