Leeds United have been dealt a double injury setback ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Southampton.
What’s the latest?
In a recent post on Twitter, Phil Hay relayed the comments of Jesse Marsch regarding the current state of his squad ahead of the Whites’ trip to Southampton this weekend, with the 48-year-old confirming that both Luke Ayling and Junior Firpo are still a number of weeks away from making a return to action – and are subsequently unavailable for the trip to the south coast.
In his post, Hay said: “Firpo and Ayling still a couple of weeks away.”
Marsch will be gutted
While it is true that Leeds do have ample cover at right-back, with summer signing Rasmus Kristensen more than likely to start on the right of Marsch’s backline at St. Mary’s once again, the fact that Firpo is yet to recover from his knock is sure to have left the American manager gutted.
Indeed, with Stuart Dallas also being ruled out of action due to injury, Marsch currently has no senior left-back available for selection, with Pascal Struijk – who is primarily a central defender – looking likely to once again feature on the left against the Saints.
However, considering just how much the 23-year-old struggled against Wolves – with the Dutchman being accountable for allowing Hwang Hee-chan to set up Daniel Podence’s opener, as well as being beaten by an opponent on three separate occasions and losing possession of the ball 18 times last weekend – it is clear that the £13.5m-rated talent is not overly comfortable on the left of a back four.
As such, both Firpo and Ayling’s continued absence will certainly come as a source of great frustration for Marsch and his side, who will undoubtedly be hoping to continue their 100% record with another victory over Ralph Hasenguttl’s side this weekend.
