Pontus Jansson has contradicted Thomas Christiansen’s claim that he was fit and able to play in Leeds United’s 3-2 win against Ipswich on Saturday.
Eyebrows were raised when Jansson’s name was absent from the Leeds line-up that was announced an hour before kick-off after Christiansen had claimed at his Friday briefing that the defender had recovered from the knock he sustained in last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Millwall.
Christiansen then added a further twist with his surprising claim that there was no fitness issue for the talismanic Swede, suggesting that there was an issue behind the scenes.
“He’s fit but I decided to leave him out,” said the Elland Road manager, as quoted by Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Phil Hay on his personal Twitter account after the game.
Jansson was fit and available today. Christiansen: "He's fit but I decided to leave him out." #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) September 23, 2017
Jansson subsequently gave an interview to Swedish outlet Fotbollskanalen in which he claimed that he was not fit for the Ipswich match and he had been ruled out by the Leeds medical staff.
The centre-back is confident of being fit for United’s Championship clash away to third-placed Cardiff City next Tuesday.
“I had a bleeding in the thigh so there was a risk of pulling it up and in that case I would have gone a long time,”said Jansson. “There is less risk on Tuesday, probably I can play then. I hope so. It was the medical team who judged that it was better not to play.”
Jansson suggested he had been carrying the injury since the last set of internationals and that it had been exacerbated by the fixture schedule and travelling.
In the absence of the giant defender, fit-again skipper Liam Cooper returned to partner Conor Shaughnessy, 21, in the heart of the Leeds defence and the team conceded two goals in a closely fought encounter.
Coincidentally, the last time Leeds conceded two goals in the Championship came in the opening day of the season when they beat Bolton 3-2 in the league, a match in which Jansson was absent due to suspension.
Two goals were also conceded in the midweek penalty shoot-out win over Burnley in the League Cup, a game that the Sweden international also missed.
Leeds’ win over Ipswich kept them at the Championship summit, although they are only ahead of Wolves and Cardiff on goal difference.