Leeds United journalist Beren Cross has claimed that central defender Diego Llorente may have Covid-19 after recent Marcelo Bielsa comments.
Over the weekend, a depleted Leeds team fell to a 4-1 home defeat at the hands of a rampant Arsenal side. Bielsa’s men were without a number of key first-team stars which contributed hugely to the underwhelming display.
One of those players to miss out was the club’s Spanish centre-back. While explaining Llorente’s absence on Sky Sports (via LeedsLive), Bielsa did not specifically mention Covid, but did say: “From today Llorente will be absent for ten days at least.”
Now, while speaking on a Leeds United Live Facebook stream, Cross claimed that this may mean the defender has Covid.
He said (08:42): “Bielsa didn’t say Llorente had Covid. But I think he did say to Sky that Llorente will have a 10-day absence. So by sort of putting a 10-day figure on it, you would assume that’s Covid.”
He later added (11:56): “He [Llorente] takes his health more seriously than anybody in the team, Bielsa says. And he’s fallen ill.”
TIF thoughts on Diego Llorente and Leeds…
Having already been missing a number of players due to fitness concerns, this is certainly a bad time for a first-team player to catch the virus. Going into the Arsenal match, Leeds has a ‘crippling injury list’ which saw 10 of Bielsa’s players missing for the match.
Without Llorente and the others, they were thumped 4-1 in that game, having just lost 7-0 away at Manchester City in their previous match.
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If the Spaniard is to miss 10 or more days, he could be absent for upcoming games against Liverpool and Aston Villa. With the Yorkshire club struggling to retain their Premier League status – sitting just four points above the relegation zone – this latest setback could be a big issue immediately as well as in the wider context of the season.
In other news: ‘Bielsa has run his course at Elland Road’ – TalkSPORT reporter drops savage Leeds claim