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'What are Leeds thinking?' – Noel Whelan slams 'ridiculous' decision by club on Monday
Noel Whelan has slammed the decision to play Jean-Kevin Augustin in the Leeds United Under-23 game against Sheffield Wednesday on Monday.
Augustin played the first 45 minutes but took a knock on the stroke of half-time that saw him down for a couple of minutes and needing treatment from the physio.
Augustin got up and hobbled off at half-time before being subbed in what was said to be a planned change.
Talking on The Monday Night Club on BBC Radio 5 Live Whelan said the decision to play him and leave him out of the first-team squad was ‘ridiculous’ and that it could have had a disastrous impact on Leeds’ season.
“Augustin took a knock [for the Under-23s] but he’s okay,” Whelan said.
“But you’re running a big risk there. What if he had been injured? We’d be left with just one striker!
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“It’s just says to me… ridiculous, when you’ve got a new striker who’s playing for the Under-23s if he’s not match ready, what are Leeds thinking?”
The sight of Augustin down on the ground and receiving treatment left Leeds fans with their hearts in their mouths.
MOT Leeds News spoke to Carlos Corberan after the game and he said the striker was fine and would be training as normal on Tuesday.
That’s very good news for Leeds.
And, while it might be a risk playing Augustin for the Under-23s, this is normal protocol for Marcelo Bielsa.
He uses the Under-23s to get players match fit and he obviously felt the risk was worth taking with Augustin.
He didn’t look 100% sharp but we’d still like to see him on the bench for the game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
We think his presence will give Leeds a lift and, if he’s needed, he could make an impact in the closing minutes.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Wow really?’, ‘The day you lost the fans’ – Many Leeds fans react to Radrizzani Twitter message