‘He’s not ready’ – Barnsley ace ruled out of clash v Leeds
Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber has confirmed that Elliot Simoes will not be available to play against Leeds United on Thursday.
Simoes, 20, was on the rough-end of a red-card challenge by Wigan’s Danny Fox at the weekend.
The Portuguese forward will now miss Barnsley’s trip to Elland Road this week, handing Struber something else to worry about ahead of facing the in-form Whites.
“We have a problem with Elliott Simoes, he is not ready to play on Thursday,” Struber told BBC Radio Sheffield, as quoted by LeedsLive.
“He has an issue with his ankle and it’s swelling, it’s a ligament problem, he’s had a scan and I hope it’s not a big impact. At the moment, he’s not ready. This was from Saturday, it was a foul on him and a hit on his ankle.
“I hope it’s not a rupture on the ligament but we will see in the next few hours.”
Simoes has made 17 appearances in all competitions for Barnsley this season, scoring two goals in the process which came against Derby and QPR.
He has spent much of the season in and out of Struber’s side but has played in all six of the Tykes’ matches since the Championship resumed last month.
Barnsley are fighting for their lives down at the bottom of the Championship, knowing that an incoming 12-point deduction for Wigan could save them from dropping back down to League One.
Struber’s going to need as many players available as possible to be able to stand a chance against Leeds but we really don’t see how Barnsley have a chance of getting anything at Elland Road.
Leeds could clinch automatic promotion to the Premier League when they take on Struber’s side
With or without Simoes, we predict a huge win for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
In other Leeds United news, Brexit is having an impact on Leeds’ hunt to sign this international.