Dominic Calvert-Lewin picks up new injury as Leeds United absences grow
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was among a long list of absentees as Leeds United started their pre-season against Wrexham on Sunday morning.
Daniel Farke watched his side lose 3-2 to the Red Dragons in Tampa, with minutes in the tank after a week of training.
Joel Piroe scored and missed a penalty, while Sean Longstaff also found the back of the net.
Leeds were without Calvert-Lewin, Jaka Bijol, Gabriel Gudmundsson and new signing Tarik Muharemovic, among others.
It wasn't the perfect outing for the Whites, but Wrexham have been training for weeks and beat Man United ahead of the Championship starting earlier.
With Harry Wilson also taking to the field for the first time, it was a positive outing, if you forget about those injuries.
Why was Dominic Calvert-Lewin missing vs Wrexham?
If you're just waking up and checking the score, it may be easy to feel slightly disappointed.
But, there were plenty of positive for Farke, who used a Leeds team littered with youth, rather than all-out experience.
Calvert-Lewin missed out due to a small setback that prevented him from completing his individual programme, via Isaac Johnson of Leeds Live.
The striker is training individually and should return soon.
On top of that, Jaka Bijol has a slight knee issue, while Sebastiaan Bornauw also recovers from a small problem.
Could Leeds United sign another striker?
If you ask every fan at Elland Road, they'd say it's a necessity.
MOT Leeds News has covered strong reports that Leeds are still looking at Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirovic.
The Bosnian fits Farke's profile perfectly, a physical number nine who scores frequently and bullies defenders.
Calvert-Lewin stayed fit for the majority of last season, and Lukas Nmecha was a perfect back up around him.
Outside of them is Piroe, who despite praying for another shot at Elland Road, may not simply be good enough.
It's encouraging to see new links, rather than relying on the fitness of two very good, yet injury prone strikers.
Leeds are pushing ahead with James Trafford to add genuine starting XI quality, but then it's about bolstering this squad to make it a real force.
A new striker could be top of that list.