There are doubts over two Leeds players ahead of their next Championship clash against Stoke on Saturday.
Talking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Marcelo Bielsa said that Liam Cooper had an ankle knock and Stuart Dallas had a muscle problem.
He said that neither injury was serious and that both may yet play against Stoke.
If they were fit to play Bielsa confirmed that he would name an unchanged line-up from the win against Brentford, with left-back Barry Douglas still unavailable.
If Bielsa was forced to rest them, Gaetano Berardi would come in for Cooper and Jamie Shackleton would come in as right-back.
Bielsa was quoted by The Athletic journalist Phil Hay.
Cooper's injury is an ankle knock. Dallas has a muscle problem. Neither are serious. Bielsa indicating now that they might actually play tomorrow. Both been rested from training today. Shackleton and Berardi the choices if they don't.
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) August 23, 2019
No Nketiah
Eddie Nektiah has scored two from two games since joining Leeds and has only started one game.
Helder Costa has provided three assists from five games and has only started one.
Given those stats and the fact Costa has joined on an initial loan with an obligation to buy for a reported £15m, it might seem odd that Bielsa isn’t putting them in from the start.
The game against Brentford looked like it would end 0-0 before the two players came on.
However, this is Bielsa and he likes to keep the faith with the same group of players. We’ve no doubt that Nketiah and Costa’s time will come but if Leeds stay undefeated they may have to rely on injuries to get themselves in the starting XI.
Fortress Leeds
Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas have had great starts to the season and Leeds fans will be hoping their back-four isn’t disrupted on Saturday.
Leeds have only conceded two goals in four Championship games and their four opponents have only completed six passes in the Leeds box combined.
There is hope that both players will start and Cooper played 90 minutes against Brentford despite being dubbed a doubt before that game.
The other good news for Leeds fans is that in Berardi and Shackelton, Bielsa has two solid replacements.