Daniel Farke has shared an injury update on his Leeds United squad ahead of Monday’s trip to Middlesbrough.
The Whites make the short trip to the Riverside looking to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive after picking up just five points across their last five matches.
Leeds know nothing other than a win will do at this stage of the season with just three matches remaining, and so having as many players available as possible will be crucial.
Farke was without just Pascal Struijk, Jamie Shackleton and Stuart Dallas for last weekend’s defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
Dallas, who has already confirmed he will be retiring at the end of the season, has been out for two years now, while Shackleton has missed the last two games. Struijk, meanwhile, will not play again this campaign.
Farke confirms fresh Leeds injury blow ahead of Middlesbrough
Leeds’ squad were badly effected fitness wise by the recent international break, with Willy Gnonto, Ilia Gruev and Connor Roberts all missing matches as a result of it.
Thankfully, all three have managed to return in the last couple of games, though speaking in his pre-match press conference, Farke has confirmed one player has suffered a reaction.
After appearances from the bench against Coventry City and Sunderland, Roberts then played an hour from the start against Blackburn last time out.
However, the 28-year-old is now set to miss Leeds’ next two against Boro and QPR, as the muscle which was previously injured has suffered a recurrence of the same problem.
He said: “Sadly, some bad news, Connor Roberts. Muscle showed reaction in training this week and he will miss the next two games, maybe the last game against Southampton. Tried to manage him well after the break, but maybe not careful enough. That’s the only bad news.”
Predicted Leeds XI to face Boro
Farke has a couple of options to choose from to replace Roberts at right-back, though you would expect Archie Gray to drop back into that position.
Gray has spent the majority of the campaign in the back four but played against Blackburn in midfield. Sam Byram is, of course, another option.
Elsewhere, Farke has another decision to make in the number nine position afterJoel Piroe’s disappointing display after his recall.
Mateo Joseph and Patrick Bamford are both pushing to start, though Georginio Rutter is another option to move back up front.
