Phil Hay shares who could play Kalvin Phillips role for Leeds v Aston Villa
Leeds United were hit with the massive blow that Kalvin Phillips has been ruled out for six weeks on Tuesday afternoon.
The Yorkshire Pirlo suffered a shoulder injury in the 1-0 defeat against Wolves on Monday after a collision with Raul Jimenez.
The Whites confirmed that Phillips doesn’t require surgery, and has already started his rehabilitation at Thorp Arch.
With Pascal Struijk likely needed in defence because of the potential absence of both Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente, Marcelo Bielsa could have a selection headache.
Phil Hay of the Athletic has shared who could potentially fill that role against Aston Villa on Friday evening.
“For Bielsa, replacing Phillips will not be straightforward,” he wrote.
“It might be that Mateusz Klich has to drop deep at Villa.”
The next three days of preparation will be vital ahead of this game, and we will all be crossing our fingers for some good news eventually.
Klich has been superb this season in that free-roaming role in the middle, but he will need to be much more disciplined if playing deeper.
The 30-year-old has only made 17 interceptions so far this season and won 52% of his loose ball duels according to WyScout.
Those are both Phillips’ bread and butter in midfield, although Klich wins more of his duels – a great stat that could prove his worth defensively.
If Klich moves back, it would welcome Pablo Hernandez back into the fold. That would make the Whites much stronger going forward, but it may see them suffer at the back.
The Polish international is the likely candidate right now, but much will depend on the outcome of Cooper’s latest blow.
In other Leeds United news, many Whites fans react to cameo of Raphinha v Wolves
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