Pascal Struijk injury update shared ahead of Leeds United pre-season

Pascal Struijk is set to return back to training for the start of pre-season with Leeds United, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.

The centre-back missed the second half of last season due to a groin injury with his last Championship appearance coming on 26 December against Preston.

The Evening Post wrote that Struijk will report for pre-season at the very first opportunity during the first week of July and the Dutchman will be keen to make up for lost time.

What Pascal Struijk brings to the Leeds United team

Although Leeds had Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu forging a formidable centre-back partnership, the absence of Struijk was certainly missed, especially as it meant Ampadu wasn't available in central midfield.

The beauty of Ampadu is his versatility, though sometimes it can be a curse because it was noticeable at times when he had to come out of central defence to fill back in at midfielder in the second half of last season.

Having Struijk available would have been a huge plus and it obviously will be next season, albeit now the issue is whether Rodon will still be at Elland Road next season.

Rodon was excellent during his loan spell but Tottenham have exercised an extension to his contract and though there is "slim hope" (Football London, 16 June) that the Wales ace will return next term there is major doubt as to whether can bring him back to West Yorkshire.

But one thing at a time, eh? And the news that Struijk is going to be around for the start of pre-season is a positive and Farke has plenty of time to figure out what to do about the Rodon situation.

In other Leeds news, an update has been shared about the future of Willy Gnonto.

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