Leeds United: Junior Firpo may not be back in England for Watford clash
Daniel Farke has warned that Junior Firpo may not be back from international duty in time to feature for Leeds United against Watford on 29 March.
Farke also shared his hope that the players away on international duty can return without injuries, although he admitted it would be “tricky”.
The boss was speaking after the 2-0 win against Millwall which saw his team move to the top of the Championship thanks to goals from Willy Gnonto and Daniel James.
Speaking to the official Leeds United YouTube channel [17 March], Farke explained: “We hope for good training and good performances with their teams, also safe travels and we hope they come back without injuries.
“It will be tricky because we have to travel on Thursday. Some guys will just be back on Thursday.
“Junior Firpo, I’m not sure will be back in time for the game. Probably on Friday, so it will be really difficult. We’ll have to find some answers.”
Junior Firpo will be a big miss for Leeds United v Watford
It looks in all likelihood that Firpo will miss the next Championship clash given the distance he has to travel to represent the Dominican Republic, which isn’t ideal for anybody given his importance to the team.
Since recovering from early injury issues this season, he has established himself as a key player in Farke’s plans and has provided plenty of strong performances up and down the left-hand side in support of the flying Crysencio Summerville.
Possible options to replace Firpo against Watford would be the likes of Sam Byram or Connor Roberts, although Byram seems most likely to be given the nod as he was the regular left-back at Elland Road before Firpo’s recovery.
Having moved into first place thanks to the win against Millwall, Leeds know they need to keep winning to maintain the pressure on Leicester and to keep the gap between the likes of Ipswich and Southampton who are mounting strong claims for promotion.
In other Leeds United news, Crysencio Summerville and Archie Gray injury news has emerged.
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