Injury News

Leeds United injury update: Phillips, Rodrigo, Llorente, Alioski + more

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Leeds United are gearing up for the visit of Arsenal at the weekend, with Marcelo Bielsa hopeful of returning to a full-strength lineup after the international break.

Injury problems have grabbed all the headlines over the past week thanks to the continuation of international friendlies during a global crisis not really set up for such menial fixtures to take place.

Liverpool’s defensive woes appear catastrophic but they’re not the first club to have problems with injuries and they certainly won’t be the last, as Marcelo Bielsa can testify to at Elland Road.

This season’s schedule might be a tad more relaxed than the Championship and relieving the players of midweek games every other week, but injuries are still cropping up.

With the Arsenal clash to look forward to, we take a look at the list of absentees we have on the books…

Gjanni Alioski

2020 has probably been the best year of Alioski’s career after promotion to the Premier League and qualification for next year’s Euro’s with North Macedonia.

His achievement with his country cannot be understated as the country’s first qualification for a major tournament, and Alioski might have paid a minor price for his endeavours.

After the game, the North Macedonia coach confirmed that the Leeds number 10 will not travel for their final game of this break after suffering swelling on his hamstring.

Kalvin Phillips

The Yorkshire Pirlo hasn’t featured since the 1-0 defeat to Wolves and it’s shown.

A lack of a settled presence in holding midfield has cost us dearly in the last two games, as we fell to consecutive 4-1 defeats.

A shoulder injury sustained against Wolves is what has kept him out but we could be in for a massive boost after Phillips revealed his hopes for returning this Sunday.

Speaking to Leif Davis on Twitch, Phillips stated he was expecting an injection to ease the injury and he’s aiming for a return this week.

Diego Llorente

The Spain international hasn’t had the most fortunate start to life at Elland Road, swiftly picking up a groin injury that has kept him sidelined since.

We are yet to see Llorente play even a minute for the club and we could be made to wait a bit longer as he pushes for fitness levels necessary for Bielsa to give him the nod.

Rodrigo

The other Spanish international we signed in the summer has had a much more pleasant start in West Yorkshire, demonstrating just why we smashed our transfer record to sign him.

A masterclass away to Aston Villa demonstrated the peak of what we’ve seen so far from him, but he was unfortunately dealt a setback as he has been forced to isolate after receiving a positive test, missing those defeats to Leicester and Palace.

With his period of isolation due to finish, he will be set to return to the lineup when the Gunners make the trip north.

Adam Forshaw

The never-ending injury seems to be slowly but surely coming to its conclusion with Forshaw regaining fitness and edging nearer to getting minutes in the under-23s.

It’s been one of the most baffling and frustrating injury sagas we’ve ever seen and the hope is that he’s coming out of the other side now to finally be a part of Bielsa’s first-team once again.

Gaetano Berardi

A tremendous servant to the club, Berardi was dealt the cruelest blow during Leeds’ penultimate (and dead rubber) clash against Derby County last season, when he tore his ACL.

Surgery was required and effectively ended his chances of playing in the Premier League this season.The club have since signed him up to a one-year extension to keep him on the books for this season as he recovers.

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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.