Charlie Crew handed golden opportunity for Leeds United debut as injury blow emerges
Daniel Farke confirmed all of the biggest worries at Leeds United after revealing the extent of Ethan Ampadu’s injury.
The Welshman managed just 41 minutes during the 3-0 win over Coventry City before being replaced by Ao Tanaka, leaving Elland Road shaken by the seriousness of the injury to their captain.
Ampadu is expected to be out of team training for 10 weeks after damaging his lateral ligament, leaving Ilia Gruev and Tanaka as his most likely partnership for the base of midfield [Yorkshire Evening Post].
This comes as a humungous blow for the Whites, who are aiming to secure promotion to the Premier League at the second time of asking, having missed out narrowly to Southampton in the play-off final last term.
The 24-year-old, who is also a regular at international level with Wales, started all 46 of Leeds’ league matches last season and had already started all seven this season too.
Charlie Crew to finally earn Leeds United debut?
While Ampadu will be a huge miss over the next 10 weeks, Thorp Arch talent Charlie Crew could be one player who benefits from the recent news.
The 18-year-old prospect has yet to be handed his full first-team debut despite being on the fringes of Farke’s team, sitting on the bench on several occasions but never making it onto the pitch.
The manager is clearly being very cautious about throwing Crew into the senior set-up, but given he has already earned his international debut with Wales, there is no doubt he can be trusted.
James Debayo is another youth talent who has been on the fringes of the first team, most recently appearing on the bench to face Coventry City, but he has also yet to make his debut.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Farke may be under more pressure to rotate the squad, and without Ampadu available, it could be Crew’s time to shine at Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, Jim White was wowed by what a Leeds fan said about VAR live on talkSPORT.
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