OPINION
Tammy Abraham has been ruled out of Aston Villa’s trip to Elland Road on Sunday – and that is a major boost for Leeds United.
Abraham, 21, has been in prolific form for the Villans this term but the on-loan Chelsea forward will not be available when Dean Smith’s side travels to West Yorkshire this weekend due to a shoulder injury.
Smith, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post, has confirmed that the England international has not suffered a serious setback, but is not going to be named in the squad when matchday arrives on Sunday.
“He’s had a scan on his shoulder and it’s nothing major,” said the Aston Villa manager.
“The Leeds game will come too early but we’re hoping he will be back for Norwich.”
Leeds’ defence has been way too easy to beat in the last couple of games and Marcelo Bielsa will no doubt be breathing a sigh of relief after hearing this news about Abraham.
The 21-year-old has scored 25 goals in 37 Championship appearances for Aston Villa this season, with four in his last five outings before missing the 1-0 win against Millwall on Monday.
Villa have won their last 10 games in a row but their chances of extending that run to 11 games, without one of their best players, and against third-placed Leeds, have surely taken a hit.
Liam Cooper could return to the Leeds starting line-up, which means that Bielsa’s defence will look in much better shape than it has done in the last three matches where the club captain has been sidelined with an injury.
The Team of the Year pairing of Cooper and Pontus Jansson should be able to cope against an Aston Villa strikeforce that is lacking it’s most important piece.
And with games running out for Leeds to seal their spot in the automatic promotion spots, there is a great chance here to take advantage of Villa’s woes, ruin their winning run and catch up with second-placed Sheffield United.