Leeds United injury news as Leo Hjelde suffers ‘whack’ in Under-21 clash v Hertha BSC
Leo Hjelde suffered a “whack to the hip” in Leeds United Under-21s’ clash with Hertha BSC, according to manager Michael Skubala.
The 20-year-old started the Premier League International Cup clash against the German side on Tuesday (24 October).
But he was replaced by Harvey Sutcliffe in the 59th minute due to injury, with the Whites going on to win the match 3-1.
“We wanted to get him through some good minutes and he probably came off a little bit early,” Skubala told Leeds Live (25 October). “He got whacked in the hip, either a dead hip or just a little bit sore, so we didn’t want to risk it.
“So we tried to get him off as soon as we could to look after him. The plan was to get him more minutes but he got injured, got a whack.”
Unfortunate
Leeds have been very unfortunate with injuries this season, both when it comes to first team players and those in the Under-21 setup.
Young defender Hjelde has been in and around the first team in recent times, with the left-back playing 45 minutes on the opening day of the Championship campaign against Cardiff City.
He was also handed plenty of minutes by Farke in the club’s two EFL Cup matches, but the manager has relied upon Sam Byram at left-back more often than not in the last few months.
Still, Hjelde is set to play an important role for the Whites this season given their busy schedule, with a big squad needed if the club are to get out of the Championship.
His injury is, therefore, a blow to Farke and indeed Skubala, in what was perhaps the only negative from a fine night for the club’s Under-21 side.
They made it past Hertha thanks to goals from Keenan Carole, Lewis Bate and Mateo Joseph in an impressive display, with Hjelde assisting the second of the night.
In other Leeds United news, an unusual clause not possible in one country has been used on one Whites loanee, with a permanent exit now on the cards.