Leeds United defender Liam Cooper has suffered a hamstring injury which forced him out as a late absentee against Swansea City on Tuesday night, according to reliable journalist Phil Hay.
The Yorkshire Evening Post reporter claims on his personal Twitter account that the Whites’ club captain, who was initially named in the starting XI versus the Swans, picked up a muscle injury in the warm up, and that the club will be sweating as it is as yet unclear as to how serious the blow is.
It's a hamstring injury for Cooper. Not clear how serious yet but that's one position Leeds can't afford absentees in. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) August 21, 2018
As Hay states, manager Marcelo Bielsa is lacking in options at the heart of the defence, with Liam Shackleton taking his place for the game at the Liberty Stadium.
Opinion
Dear oh dear Leeds, what have you got yourselves into? A centre back injury was absolutely the last thing they needed this early on in the campaign, especially with Cooper having been one of the top performers under the new manager, and with Pontus Jansson a doubt with a back injury, which kept him out of Tuesday night’s game, there are very few options left to the Argentinian boss. With the loan window open until the end of August, it is imperative that Bielsa and director of football Victor Orta work overtime to bring in at least one, or even two, new recruits to help bolster the back line, or risk giving up this great start they have made to the campaign. They might be scoring plenty, but without a solid defence to rely on, they will find themselves on the back foot more often than not.