Leeds United fans have been handed a boost over the status of striker Tyler Roberts after seeing him substituted surprisingly early on in the club’s friendly clash with Guiseley on Thursday (26 July), according to journalist Lee Sobot.
The Yorkshire Evening Post writer claims on his personal Twitter account that despite fears that the former West Brom hitman might have suffered another injury blow, having been ruled out of action almost immediately after signing for the club in January, there were no issues after he played just 38 minutes against the National League North side.
Tyler Roberts is fine and was only subbed after 38 minutes of last night's friendly with Guiseley with a view to Sunday's final friendly against Las Palmas which will be the really interesting one. No injury. Shin fine. #lufc
— Lee Sobot (@LeeSobotYEP) July 27, 2018
The news will be a boost to supporters, who will see their side play their final game of the season against Las Palmas over the weekend before returning to league action.
Opinion
It looks as though Marcelo Bielsa wanted the young striker to get a few more minutes of action under his belt after his long term injury layoff, but did not want to tire him out before the final, and what will probably be the most competitive, friendly of them all. The clash against Las Palmas is likely to see the manager put out his strongest side before taking on Stoke in their season opener, and it appears as though Roberts will have some part to play, be that in the starting XI or off the bench. Either way, it would be a huge surprise if Leeds had another striker in through the door before Sunday, despite all the rumours of their transfer hunt, and with that being the case, it leaves Roberts battling with converted winger Kemar Roofe and flop forward Caleb Ekuban for a starting role over the next week.