International breaks can either come at an ideal time or the worst possible time for a club – there is rarely an in between. And for Leeds United, it has come at the worst possible time, with Daniel Farke’s side firing on all cylinders in pursuit of Ipswich Town and Leicester City at the top of the Championship. The Whites have lost just once in their last seven games and sit just seven points adrift of what once looked like an unreachable top spot.
From Farke’s perspective, he’ll just hope to see that momentum continue after the international break. But bad news is already beginning to pile up for the Whites, with one star player already potentially injured ahead of their return to club action in a week or so to make it yet another international round to forget.
Leeds United injury news
When it comes to injuries this season, Leeds haven’t faced incredibly unfortunate times with knocks, keeping the majority of their side together to eventually form what is currently an impressive run of results. That said, Farke will know just how quickly things can change and could already be without one specific player when club football returns.
According to Leeds All Over, Wilfried Gnonto was forced off with an injury for Italy U21s as they smashed San Marino 7-0 on Thursday. The winger was responsible for two goals, before passing on the chance to score a hat-trick, instead handing the penalty to Sebastiano Esposito. Gnonto reportedly appeared to clutch his hamstring as he limped off in what is a worrying sign for Farke and co.
It wouldn’t be Gnonto’s first injury of the season, either. The Italian has struggled to get going after seeing his campaign disrupted early on by an ankle injury which saw him miss four games. Now, he could be set to miss even more action after coming off for the national side.
Leeds need “incredible” Gnonto back to his best
If Leeds are to secure promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, then getting Gnonto back to his best could be the key. The winger showed glimpses of what he can do in the top flight last season, recording six goal involvements, but has struggled to get going in the Championship, with just one goal and one assist to his name in 11 appearances.
At just 20-years-old, Gnonto still has plenty of time to rediscover his golden touch and become the player that former manager Jesse Marsch praised so highly in the past. The ex-Leeds boss said after the winger’s Paolo Di Canio-esque volley last season: “It was a good diagonal ball from Rodrigo, really clever from Willy to fox the defender and then an incredible finish. He’s really happy with that. We knew about him for a while and we initially had a little more of an idea to bring him in the future.
“But we brought him in early and he’s shown what he can do. He is very humble, grounded and a real human being who wants to improve. He’s worth more than four million now. I like working with young, attacking explosive talent.”
