Marcelo Bielsa reveals why Pascal Struijk missed Leeds defeat to Chelsea
Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk missed the 3-2 defeat against Chelsea due to a foot injury, Marcelo Bielsa has revealed.
The Whites were beaten by the Blues at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon (11 December), with Jorginho scoring a dramatic 94th-minute winner from the penalty spot.
Struijk was expected to feature in west London after recovering from a hip injury, but there was surprise when he was not included in the matchday squad.
“He was going to play the game,” Bielsa said after the match [Leeds Live]. “In yesterday’s training he had a movement, two of the bones in his foot collided and that produced a pain.
“There’s no risk, the pain is difficult to tolerate and the inflammation didn’t go down from yesterday to today and last minute we couldn’t count on him.”
Frustrating
Struijk has proved to be a very important part of the Leeds squad this season and his versatility has come in very handy as the team have suffered with several injuries in different positions.
The 22-year-old has played at centre-back, left-back and in midfield and been a dependable option wherever he has been deployed.
Former Whites striker Noel Whelan said of Struijk last month (12 November): “He’s a fantastic footballer, and one who has the ability to adapt to any role Bielsa asks of him.”
The fact that the Belgian-born defender has now joined the injury list is very frustrating, particularly as this foot injury is a new problem after he missed the game against Brentford with a hip issue.
He likely would have played at centre-back at Stamford Bridge, where Luke Ayling was forced to fill in as Liam Cooper is sidelined.
We will wait and see whether Struijk is available to face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday (14 December).
In other Leeds United news, Alan Shearer has slammed two Whites players on MOTD for what they did in loss v Chelsea.