Daniel Farke has shared a fresh injury update on his Leeds United squad ahead of Friday’s trip to Sheffield Wednesday.
Leeds face the last of four matches in nine days at Hillsborough and Farke has had to rotate his squad over the last week or so in order to keep it as fresh as it possibly can.
Farke has confirmed that it will be the same squad at his disposal tomorrow night which means Jaidon Anthony looks set to be unavailable again due to personal reasons.
The Whites boss had a more positive update to bring on defender Pascal Struijk, though, stating that he still remains on course to return after the international break, for the run-in.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Farke says he cannot believe how well Leeds have coped in his absence, but is excited to have one of the ‘cornerstones’ of the club’s future available again.
Farke labels Struijk as key to Leeds future
He said: “Feels a bit crazy that we didn’t speak about him last two months and thank God we didn’t have to because our defensive behaviour was spot on. He’s a cornerstone for our future.
“We play without such a key player for two months, once he’s back in team training it’s not like you press a button and he’s back to his best.
“I expect him to be back in team training other side of international break at latest. Hopefully as soon as possible back in best possible shape.”
Struijk’s return to the side will be a huge boost to Leeds as although they have coped well in his absence, there is no doubt his newly found leadership, set-piece prowess, and quality on the ball has been missed.
It is unbelievable to think that Struijk has not played since the Boxing Day defeat to Preston North End, a game in which he almost single-handedly carried Leeds to a point with 10 men.
Ilia Gruev has been excellent in midfield during Struijk’s time out of the side, but moving Ethan Ampadu back into midfield, with the 24-year-old back in central defence, will be massive.