Leeds United left really stretched as Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev injury news hits weakest point
Leeds United have suffered a major injury blow at their weakest point with Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev both hurt, says Jobi McAnuff.
The Sky Sports pundit told BBC Sport’s 72+ podcast on 2 October that central midfield was the one area of Daniel Farke’s squad where the Whites would “really be stretched” if they were hit by a couple of absences.
And after Ampadu was ruled out for 10 weeks with a knee injury picked up against Coventry City [The Athletic, 30 September] Gruev then went off early against Norwich City on 1 October, with the club confirming on 3 October he will be out for an extended period after knee surgery.
McAnuff agreed the Ampadu news was a big, big blow, saying (16m 30s): “Yeah, for sure, particularly in that midfield area which is obviously his preferred position and where he’s gone back into this season.
“With Gruev as well, having gone off very, very early in the game, that’s going to be a real area of concern for Leeds United.
“Obviously lost [Glen] Kamara in the summer, Archie Gray as well, so maybe that’s the one area where you look at that squad and feel if they were to get one or two [injuries], which they’ve got now, they’re gonna really be stretched. Really interesting to see how that plays out in the coming weeks.”
Daniel Farke hit by Leeds United injury nightmare
The Whites may have signed Ao Tanaka late in the transfer window and brought in Joe Rothwell on loan from Bournemouth, but two months or more relying on the pair to man the middle looks daunting.
Both appear to be better going forward and Norwich seemed to often be running into acres of space at Carrow Road once Gruev was withdrawn.
And with the central defensive situation also teetering thanks to Max Wober’s injury and Ampadu now unavailable there either the squad is suddenly looking very thin.
It was the number 10 position which specifically irked Farke at the end of the transfer window after a natural replacement for Georginio Rutter wasn’t signed [Graham Smyth, 2 September].
But neither the manager or the fanbase are going to look on the summer any more favourably now Leeds United are wilting under the weight of fitness issues, with the likes of Dan James and Manor Solomon also out.
An injury crisis can hit any side and to an extent the Whites set themselves up for this sort of thing by failing to gain promotion at the first time of asking, but that won’t ease fears of a repeat now that another key man has gone down.
In other Leeds United news, a Sky Sports pundit was staggered by what one “unbelievable” Whites player did.
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