Leeds United key pair Pablo Hernandez and Gaetano Berardi are set to miss the next five matches in a crushing double blow, according to TeamTalk.
The football site claim Hernandez, 33, is expected to be sidelined for five weeks with a muscular injury, ruling him out until after the next international break in mid-October.
TeamTalk report that Berardi, 30, will also miss the next three weeks with the knee injury he sustained in the draw against Middlesbrough.
OPINION
Talk about a shocking build-up to the already testing trip to Millwall. News of Hernandez and Berardi’s seemingly lengthy absences comes after it was confirmed at the start of the week that Patrick Bamford will be sidelined for four months with cruciate damage. The £7million summer signing was set for major role after playing second fiddle to Kemar Roofe in the opening weeks of the campaign. Hernandez and Berardi have already been key men, and have been two of the standouts not only of Leeds’ brilliant start to the season but also in the entire Championship. Hernandez’s guile and craft makes him virtually irreplaceable, despite his advancing years, while Berardi has played the best football of his United career in a new centre-back role that is even more demanding due to the front-foot, aggressive style implemented by Marcelo Bielsa. Losing two such key men is shattering for Leeds.