Phil Hay claims another Leeds starter picked up injury in 1-0 win v Reading
Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla completed 90 minutes despite suffering a finger injury in the first half of the win against Reading on Saturday, according to Phil Hay.
The Athletic journalist has reported that he is yet to hear the severity of Casilla’s injury but Illan Meslier was sent out to warm up at half-time as a precaution.
“As an aside, you might have seen Illan Meslier warming up at half-time and Casilla talking to goalkeeping coach Marcos Abad before the second half started,” said Hay on The Athletic website.
“Casilla injured a finger during the first half but played on anyway (and pulled off a big save from Liam Moore in injury time, earning him a handshake from Bielsa). We’re yet to hear how bad that injury is.”
The fact that Casilla, 33, remained on the pitch for the rest of the match – and pulled off that great save to deny Moore – suggests that his injury is not that bad.
However there is the FA charge that is lingering above the Spaniard’s head for alleged racial abuse of West Brom’s Jonathan Leko while he was on loan at Charlton.
Even though the incident happened in September and the hearing took place earlier this week, Casilla is yet to find out whether or not he is going to be banned by the FA.
It means that as Leeds prepare for their clash against Middlesbrough on Wednesday, they could be fearing over Casilla’s availability due to this finger injury and the FA charge.
Meslier is bound to be ready to step up if needs be but it would be ideal for Casilla to not get hit with a ban and his injury to not be bad.
Leeds also have concerns about Kalvin Phillips after he was forced off in the first half of the 1-0 victory over Reading.
Helder Costa was another player who suffered a knock in the opening 45 minutes at Elland Road but he, unlike Phillips, managed to remain on the pitch.
In other Leeds United news, fans are thrilled with this update on Phillips.