Early Leeds team news: Bielsa confirms three senior players will miss clash v Cardiff
Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that Leeds United midfielder Pablo Hernandez will miss the match against Cardiff on Sunday.
Hernandez, 35. has been a key player for Leeds this season, with the Whites winning just three of the nine Championship matches he’s missed due to injury.
And it seems that the Yorkshire giants will have to try and improve that record this weekend when they travel to South Wales as Bielsa has officially ruled the Spaniard out of the game.
Bielsa spoke to BBC Radio Leeds on Thursday to confirm the blow while journalist Adam Pope added that Bielsa said Hernandez won’t return to training until Wednesday.
It was also confirmed that Jean-Kevin Augustin and Adam Forshaw will miss the trip to Wales.
It is definitely a blow for Leeds to be without three of their senior players but Bielsa has known about Forshaw for some time while Augustin’s injury blow was revealed last week.
Hernandez’s injury setback is definitely the biggest blow because Leeds’ record without the Spanish is so bad.
We’ve mentioned how they’ve done without the ex-Spain international this season but last season it was just as bad with Leeds winning two of seven league games without him.
Tyler Roberts is likely to stand in for the injured playmaker for the trip to Cardiff and hopefully he can turn in a performance like the one he put in against West Brom last season.
The Wales international is a good young player who’s been impressing at Thorp Arch in the last few weeks.
Maybe he’ll be the unlikely hero this weekend in the Welsh capital.
In other Leeds United news, Ian Holloway has made a promotion prediction about the Whites.