View: Diego Llorente may have started final Premier League game for Leeds
Diego Llorente may have started his final Premier League game for Leeds already with a back injury potentially costing him his starting spot in the side.
The Spanish international missed the defeat to Leicester with a back spasm injury which flared up again against Wolves, forcing him off in the first-half.
He has now also had to withdraw from the national squad for the upcoming international break so he can rest the injury and that could potentially provide the platform for the beginning of the end of his Elland Road career.
With Jesse Marsch set to have the next two weeks to train his squad with many of the regular starters not on international duty, it could see the boss opt for a new defensive pairing.
Liam Cooper is fit again and should be available to start the first game back, and with Robin Koch likely to move back into defence following the return of Kalvin Phillips there is a big chance Llorente is forced to sit out going forward.
Cooper is the club captain and would expect to be able to claim his shirt back at the first opportunity he gets, with his leadership and ball playing ability among his best attributes.
Adam Forshaw and Mateusz Klich have made the pivot positions their own in the absence of Phillips, but with the England international and fan-favourite ready to return imminently he will come back in.
Considering Koch got moved into midfield positions to help cover, the expectation is that he will now move back into his natural role to provide another option there.
Llorente’s form in recent weeks hasn’t been good, and alongside error-strewn Pascal Struijk they have conceded too many goals.
Marsch now has options to try and alter that after creating a seven point gap between themselves and the bottom three after back-to-back wins.
Those options should start with making the team stronger defensively, because we know they have enough power in attacking areas to score goals that can keep them safe.
That means less Llorente on the pitch, and potentially no more beyond the end of this season.
In other Leeds news, Phil Hay shares what positions Leeds want to sign for this summer, expects bid for named ace