Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson has been handed the huge disappointment of being forced out of his country’s international fixtures over the two week break as Sweden confirms his withdrawal.
The Elland Road centre back picked up a knee injury in the 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon, a game which saw him play both up front and in goals after Kiko Casilla’s sending off, and the Swedish FA have confirmed via their official website that he has been forced to miss out on the European qualifiers against Romania and Norway.
The international side have revealed they have called up Sotirios Papagiannopoulos from FC Copenhagen as his replacement.
Opinion
The short statement from the Swedish FA does not confirm whether his withdrawal from international action is precautionary or a more serious problem but the fact he is having to miss out signals that it was more than just a knock – which was quite clear from the way he was moving against the Blades. If the Whites had not used all their substitutes when the Swede was injured then he would have been hauled off straight away but in such a crucial clash against a promotion rival he was not willing to send his side down to 10 men, regardless of how much pain he was in. Fans will be nervous waiting to hear just how serious a blow it is, for the defender is one of the first names on the team sheet for Marcelo Bielsa. Losing him for any period of time would be a blow to their promotion chances and so they will be praying that his time off from international duty is nothing more than a precaution. If not, then Kalvin Phillips looks set for a return to the heart of defence and while the midfielder is a decent option, he certainly lacks Jansson’s physical presence.