A Leeds source has told Football Insider that Eddie Nketiah has “undergone further examination since breaking down in training last Friday and the club’s medical team now expect him to be out for at least a month and maybe more.”
Nketiah is yet to start a match for Leeds in the Championship, however, the 20-year-old has managed to score three goals in just 265 minutes.
According to Football Insider, Nketiah is set to miss Leeds’ next four league games, however the opposition he will miss playing against are all further down the table, with the highest being Blackburn Rovers, who currently sit 16th in the Championship.
Patrick Bamford is the only other natural centre-forward, which concerned pundit Danny Mills when speaking to Football Insider. Bamford has been in poor form lately, failing to score or assist in his last 10 league games, despite the 26-year-old’s average shots per game ratio standing at 3.1, which is nearly three times the amount Nketiah does (1.2).
The Arsenal loanee may also miss England U21’s Euro Qualifier next Friday, which will also frustrate Aidy Boothroyd as he will be very disappointed to be missing such a talented young player.
This is a potentially big blow for Leeds and Marcelo Bielsa, with no ideal replacement for the 20-year-old to take his place as an impact striker off the bench. It’ll likely be down to players like Helder Costa and Jack Harrison to take this as a golden opportunity to show their diversity.
The Manchester City loanee did play as a striker alongside Bamford in a 3-0 victory against Stoke City earlier in the campaign, so the Argentine does have a possible alternative to use, should he ever need to go down that particular route.