Key Leeds midfielder Adam Forshaw has been ruled out of the Championship clash against Sheffield United on Saturday.
The midfielder, whose injury has turned out to be worse than expected, will not make even the bench for the huge top-of-the-table clash.
The news was confirmed by Marcelo Bielsa in his pre-match press conference (live in the official LUFC app, Thursday, 12.30pm), who said that Forshaw was in the final stages of his recovery.
The good news is that the only other injury problem is with Kemar Roofe, who is out with ligament damage and due back in April.
OPINION
Leeds fans will take the news about Forshaw being in the final stages of recovery with a pinch of salt. The midfielder was a maybe for the Middlesbrough clash, and then for the Swansea game after that, and he’s now missed seven games. Make that eight with the huge game on Saturday and it’s fortunate that Leeds haven’t had any new injury problems to contend with. Forshaw has been a key player for Leeds though – so much so that he was preferred to Kemar Roofe in the last game he played, the defeat against Norwich. Since then, Kalvin Phillips has been returned to his normal position as a defensive midfielder and Leeds have been flying with him controlling the games in the middle. Bielsa, unusually, didn’t name his starting XI, perhaps a nod to how big this game is, but we expect it to be an unchanged line-up for the sixth game in a row. We’d be amazed if there were any changes.