Phil Hay dropped a positive update on Leeds United’s Liam Cooper after he picked up another knock last weekend.
Leeds United had been boosted by the welcome return of their captain Cooper in the last few weeks and they had gone unbeaten since the Scottish international returned to the starting lineup, but disaster struck on Saturday when he went down during the pre-match warmup.
Will Cooper start this weekend?
Yes!
No!
This forced Jesse Marsch into a late change in the lineup that faced Manchester City and they ended up conceding four goals and losing the game, so Cooper’s influence certainly can’t be underestimated.
While many may have been worried to see Cooper removed from the starting lineup, hay has delivered some positive news while speaking on The Phil Hay Show.
(43:10) “We haven’t heard any more about Cooper and his knee injury although it does seem to me like it’s not that bad. I can’t say for sure but I wouldn’t at this stage rule him out of the Arsenal game I think there’s a possibility that he might be okay for that and they do need him there.”
TIF Thoughts on Cooper…
It has been claimed that Liam Cooper is out of the Arsenal game, so this comes as a huge surprise.
The centre back’s importance was highlighted by James Marshment who tweeted out the stats Cooper boasts when he’s in the Leeds starting lineup keeping five clean sheets and conceding just 21 goals in his last 21 league games for the Whites, so they’re very clearly a better side with him in it.
Despite the defender now pushing on the wrong side of 30, he appears to be an indispensable member of the squad, even under new manager Jesse Marsch, so the American boss will have his fingers crossed that the injury picked up by Cooper was just a slight one and he can make a very swift return this weekend.
In other news: Familiar face drops worrying Leeds claim live on Sky Sports