Junior Firpo unlikely to start for Leeds United against Norwich
Junior Firpo is unlikely to start for Leeds United against Norwich City on Sunday after he played half an hour for the U-23s on Friday v Arsenal.
The Spain international was included in the starting eleven and was withdrawn in the 31st minute for Leo Hjelde with the score at 1-1.
Leeds eventually went on to lose the game 4-2, but it was interesting to see Firpo starting for them, with the first-team playing under 48 hours later.
While his early withdrawal could mean that he was preparing for Sunday’s clash against Norwich, it might also hint at the fact that he’s not quite ready to play 90 minutes of football.
He’s only just getting back from injury and the advice could be to ease him into the playing eleven rather than starting him just because he’s training.
Even Kalvin Phillips is still to return to the fray in the Premier League despite travelling with the squad and training normally.
Firpo, who had been labelled “exceptional” in Josh Hobbs’ scouting report for All Stats Aren’t We, last featured for the Whites at the start of October.
Should he not start the Norwich clash, as we expect him to do, it will be a month without a senior appearance.
Given the fact that Stuart Dallas can play well in the left-back position and that Jamie Shackleton is likely to play, according to Marcelo Bielsa [Leeds official website], the Argentine does not need Firpo for this game.
Ideally, the Spaniard could be given a breather and possibly play next weekend after another week of training.
In other Leeds United news, Bielsa could axe ‘Awful’ Leeds player for Norwich clash after what he did recently