Leeds United were left sweating on the fitness of their star man, Raphinha, before kick-off on Sunday at Elland Road.
That is according to journalist Graham Smyth who noticed the Brazilian had pulled up before the game began with a potential issue.
The game on Sunday provided a huge three points for the Whites in their bid to retain their Premier League status after what had been a torrid spell of results.
And Raphinha himself has struggled from some poor recent form with just one goal to his name since the beginning of the new year (via Transfermarkt).
However, he had a huge role to play in the victory on Sunday afternoon as he rounded Tim Krul in the dying seconds of the game to provide Joe Gelhardt with the assist for the winning goal.
After the win, Smyth wrote of the concerns surrounding the Brazilian’s fitness after an injury fright before the game even kicked off:
“A fright before kick-off – Raphinha grimacing and rubbing his quad, motioning to the physio team that all wasn’t quite well as the warm-up came to an end,” wrote Symth for the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“By the time he was tapping the Leeds badge in the tunnel before running out for the game, he’d clearly forgotten about it. Evidently, it wasn’t that bad, or he needs to play with a sore quad every week. He was excellent.”
Are you worried about this injury concern?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Smyth’s comments…
There are certainly two different ways to look at Smyth’s injury concern. One being the winger was able to get through the game with no issue and ultimately helped his side to win the game.
But there will likely be some concern over what Smyth has brought up given the winger has been such a big part of their season as he leads the way as their top scorer.
Although it may be something for the Yorkshire club to dig into, there will likely be some encouragement Raphinha was able to play the game and seemingly come out of it with no issues.
In other news: ‘Went berserk’ – Journalist reveals Leeds star absolutely furious with teammate