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Leeds handed potential injury scare as Joe Gelhardt limps in under-23s clash
Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt appeared to pick up a knock during the under-23s clash with Leicester City on Friday night.
The Whites headed into the break with a man down after Charlie Cresswell was sent off following two yellow cards, but an update from the personal Twitter account of Leeds-Live journalist Joe Donnohue that suggested the teenage striker hurt himself caught the eyes.
Gelhardt has not featured for the senior team for a while, and playing on Friday (3 December) could mean that he will not be featuring a lot against Brentford on Sunday (5 December), but the Yorkshire side cannot afford to have another injured player right now.
Donnohue posted: “Gelhardt limping but waves away physio attention.
“Looked to take a knock to his thigh chasing back. He’s carrying on.”
He later said: “Moving gingerly as he made his way to the tunnel at the end of the first half.
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“Magic sponge needs to work wonders at the break. Would just be typical to lose Gelhardt (injured) and Cresswell (red) while the team are winning.”
Blow?
Patrick Bamford is available for selection for Sunday’s game while Rodrigo is also an option, but Gelhardt has shown flashes of what he is capable of doing and has been a quality cover for Marcelo Bielsa.
He did not return for the second half against Leicester’s under-23s as Jack Jenkins replaced him at the break, and while we await an official report, the initial signs clearly do not look good.
Leeds need to make use of their depth in attack heading into the New Year, and being without Gelhardt would be a blow.
Hopefully, it is only a temporary knock and him missing the second-half on Friday was only a precaution.
The teenager has made three Premier League appearances this term and would have been dreaming of adding to that tally this month.
It will be interesting to see if he is involved in any capacity on Sunday, but the Leeds head coach – who was watching on Friday – would have been worried after seeing Gelhardt limp during the game.
In other Leeds United news, a major update on Whites January bid to sign attacker has been provided, with pen-to-paper imminent.