Phil Hay has been speaking on the latest edition of The Athletic’s The Phil Hay Show about all things relating to Leeds United.
Hay discussed Leeds’ current injury situation ahead of the Whites’ clash with Crystal Palace.
One player who Hay focused on was Rodrigo, who missed the Whites’ 2-1 defeat to Everton earlier this week because of a groin issue and Hay provided the latest on how long the Spaniard will likely be out for.
He said: “We will get the proper update from Bielsa on Rodrigo at some point over the next few days; he was in for his scans at the start of the week.
“[Rodrigo] did say on Instagram that it wasn’t major, it was quite a minor problem – but obviously difficult to know what that means in terms of timescale. I would have thought if it’s a standard groin strain, he would probably be looking at a few weeks to a month.”
Do you think Leeds will miss Rodrigo?
Yes, he has improved us
No, he hasn't done that much
TIF Thoughts on Rodrigo…
The former Benfica man was signed from Valencia in the summer transfer window for £27m, but has had a rather inconsistent start to life at Elland Road.
As per WhoScored, in 18 league appearances, he has scored three goals, provided one assist and earned an average rating of 6.58/10 – with some impressive performances mixed in with some poor ones.
The 29-year-old is naturally a striker, but Marcelo Bielsa has often deployed him in an attacking-midfield role, and maybe that is why he has struggled at times.
However, despite this inconsistent start to life, he has played a lot of games for Leeds when he has been available, which suggests that he is becoming a key player for them – and any time that the Whites are without him could be seen as a blow.
So, they will just have to hope that Hay’s prediction is not accurate and Rodrigo is back sooner.