Joe Ellis

Wed 20 July 2022 10:10, UK

Leeds United teenager Archie Gray is set to train alone in Fremantle as he tries to get himself fit to face Crystal Palace, according to Graham Smyth.

The 16-year-old has been taken on the senior team’s tour of Australia after some stellar performances for the Under-23s last season and was involved in the game against Aston Villa.

It was during that encounter that Gray was on the receiving end of a nasty challenge from John McGinn which saw him forced off the field but the injuries are not as bad as first feared and he could be back for the next pre-season test.

“Archie Gray will train individually today in Fremantle and there’s a hope he can get some minutes against Crystal Palace,” Smyth, a journalist for the Yorkshire Evening Post, said via his personal Twitter account.

Relief

A lot of Leeds United fans will have been fearing the worst as they watched McGinn go over the top and stand on the 16-year-old’s foot heavily but they can all relax now.

He looks to be all fine again but there is understandable caution over rushing a player of such a tender age back into games after a knock and especially as it is pre-season too.

Gray may not even be a player who features in the first team next season having only spent one year as an Under-23 and Jesse Marsch may want to see him progress even further before he is given his Premier League debut.

That wouldn’t be a bad thing at all as too many players with a high ceiling are rushed into senior football when they can gain just as much from playing another year in the academy.

Let’s not forget that he is still only 16 years of age and he is already this good so Leeds should avoid panicking and getting him senior football for at least another two years.

In other Leeds United news, a £23.8million bid may be coming fairly soon but it is nowhere near the Whites’ valuation for the targeted player.