Liam Cooper has chance to save Leeds United career after Daniel Farke’s injury update
In what has been an excellent return to the Championship for Leeds United, Pascal Struijk has been one of the Whites’ best players.
The Dutch defender has started all 15 of Leeds’ opening Championship matches and has been a colossal presence both in and out of possession, but now the Whites are going to have to cope without the 24-year-old against Plymouth Argyle.
Daniel Farke confirmed that Struijk would miss the clash with the Pilgrims on Saturday (11 November) as he undergoes surgery for a hernia [Phil Hay, 9 November], with the hope being that he will be available for selection after the international break.
While his absence will be a huge blow for Farke’s side on Saturday, it does present an opportunity for Liam Cooper to stake his claim for a regular return to the starting XI after what has been a frustrating start to the campaign.
Cooper hasn’t started a match for Leeds United since September, where he struggled during the Whites’ defeat to Southampton and has since been limited to short cameos from the bench as Struijk and Joe Rodon are preferred in defence by the German.
As he enters the final year of his contract at Elland Road, it had appeared as though Cooper’s Leeds career was stuttering towards its conclusion, but Struijk’s injury may present the Scotsman with the perfect chance to return to the fold ahead of the November international break.
Plymouth have been free-scoring in recent weeks, finding the net nine times in their last three outings so will provide Cooper and the rest of the Whites’ defence with a test on Saturday, even if they have their own fragilities at the back.
Should Cooper start and perform well alongside Rodon and help the Whites extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to three matches, he could well force Farke into picking him after the international break.
The German isn’t keen to make unnecessary changes to his side and although Struijk is almost undroppable thanks to his early season heroics, the condensed fixture schedule following the November break could force him into rotating his squad.
Cooper can ensure that he is one of those players called upon when changes are required, but he needs to show that he is capable of performing at the level required in the Championship. The clash with Plymouth is as good an opportunity as he will receive over the next weeks.
Should he struggle against Steven Schumacher’s side on Saturday, it’s hard to imagine that Farke will be keen to keep him in the starting XI once Struijk returns to action. Cooper has to breathe some life into his fledgling Elland Road career.
In other Leeds United news, Farke may be pushed to drop Joel Piroe after the end of his “honeymoon” period at Elland Road