Journalist Beren Cross has revealed some ‘good news’ for Leeds United relating to Raphinha’s injury status ahead of their next game.
In the Carabao Cup earlier this week, Marcelo Bielsa’s men were unable to overcome Arsenal at the Emirates, falling to a 2-0 defeat.
Although Leeds picked a relatively strong squad – first-team regulars such as Illan Meslier, Kalvin Phillips and Rodrigo all started – there was no space for Raphinha who had limped off against Wolves in the club’s last Premier League game.
Will Leeds beat Norwich this weekend?
Yes
No
However, Cross has now stated that when he asked Bielsa about the Brazilian, and the also absent Jamie Shackleton, the club’s manager offered him a positive reply.
Cross explained on a Facebook video (3:11): “If you want some good news, I asked Bielsa about Raphinha at full-time, looking ahead. And I think the way I phrased the question was: ‘Raphinha and Jamie Shackleton were the two names not in the squad tonight. Do they have any issues that will affect their involvement on Sunday at Norwich?’
“And I think Bielsa said: ‘We think not’.
“So I think if you rearrange the tenses and the way the answer is phrased, it means they should be fine.
“So if you want some good news to go to bed with tonight, Raphinha, as it stands, now looks likely he should be available for the Norwich game on Sunday, which we know is now very, very important given how they’ve started and how Leeds started this season.”
TIF thoughts on Raphinha and Leeds…
When you look at Raphinha’s stats for the Yorkshire club, you could quickly appreciate why this will be interpreted as ‘good news’ among their fanbase.
Indeed, the Brazilian has three goals in just eight league starts already, while last season he contributed a further six goals.
As Cross alludes to, the upcoming match against Norwich City in the Premier League is shaping up to be a crucial match for Leeds given the Whites’ current league position.
They’ve won just one game this season, and after a difficult campaign so far, they’ll likely look at the Canaries – who are yet to win in the league yet – as one of the more beatable teams in the division.
In other news: ‘Not fit to wear the shirt’, ‘Shocking’ – Many Leeds fans slate ‘headless chicken’