Liam Cooper ruled out with sickness in Leeds draw v Chelsea
Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has been hit with a sickness bug which led to him missing the 0-0 draw against Chelsea on Saturday.
The Whites skipper was a shock omission from the side at Elland Road, with Pascal Struijk stepping into the starting XI despite being previously ruled out.
Marcelo Bielsa confirmed after the game it was a sickness problem, although wouldn’t share if it was in fact another case of COVID-19.
Phil Hay relayed the news on his personal Twitter account after the game, with Bielsa delighted with his sides defensive efforts.
“Bielsa delighted with the defensive effort and thought the spread of chances was pretty even between the two sides. Cooper was sick,” he said.
“Bielsa never comments on whether it’s Covid. No update on Bamford yet.”
This definitely could have been a big worry.
Leeds have been lucky with limited cases of COVID-19 in the squad, and it looks as though this one has been caught very early even if that is the case.
Thankfully, the Whites have for the first time this season been blessed with a wealth of options in the heart of their defence.
Pascal Struijk partnered Diego Llorente today, and Robin Koch was a welcome figure on the bench alongside Gaetano Berardi at Elland Road.
Most of our problems this season have come when Luke Ayling has been forced to play centrally and having these faces back will see him remain in his favoured right-back role.
With the international break coming up after the Fulham clash, Cooper should miss no more than one more game if he is forced to sit out on Friday.
In other Leeds United news, Marcelo Bielsa explains decision to substitute Rodrigo today