Joe Gelhardt doubtful for Leeds United clash v Wolves, fresh midfield injury blows also confirmed
Leeds United have suffered a number of new injury issues in the last week with Jesse Marsch confirming Junior Firpo faces over a month on the sidelines.
Joe Gelhardt has also suffered a back issue and is a doubt to play against Wolves at Molineux in the Premier League on Friday night.
Leeds’ Under-23s beat Manchester United earlier this week but the victory came at a cost with midfielders Jamie Shackleton and Lewis Bate, who are regularly used in the senior matchday squads, also suffering injuries.
On the positive side, Tyler Roberts has had successful surgery, Leo Hjelde is closing in on a comeback and Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper have returned to training.
“Junior has an MCL. They think not so bad, lighter grade two. Three to five weeks from date of injury,” said Marsch, as quoted by LeedsLive in his pre-match press conference on 17 March.
“Tyler successful surgery.
“Phillips and Cooper in full training.
“Gelhardt back issue, not in the under-23s, think he will be ready, but not certain.
“Bate and Shackleton injuries in that match.
“Leo doing quite well. Hoping training next week. Important to have another option.”
Good and bad news
If Gelhardt is missing against Wolves, that’s a massive blow.
Gelhardt, 19, came off the bench to score the last-minute winner against Norwich on Sunday so there’s no doubt that his confidence is sky-high right now.
With Patrick Bamford yet to be fully fit and going off at half-time against the Canaries, we felt as though there’d be a good chance of Gelhardt getting a start at Molineux this week.
However, the chances of that seem to be low with the young attacker suffering a back issue between now and coming off the bench against Norwich at the weekend.
It’s a shame and we hope that we can cope because Gelhardt’s impact as a substitute has been terrific this season.
As for Shackleton and Bate, that’s a shame for Leeds too as it means that Marsch will be without two substitutes that usually get named in the Premier League.
But at least there’s good news regarding Cooper, Phillips, Roberts and Hjelde in their bids to return from injury.
In other Leeds United news, here’s Gary Lineker’s instant reaction to Gelhardt’s stunning winner against Norwich.