It could be a difficult night for Daniel Farke with as many as four others already confirmed out…
Leeds United are sweating on the fitness of yet another possible absentee with as many as four of Daniel Farke’s squad already confirmed out for the Easter Monday clash with Hull City.
Leeds team news vs Hull City
The Whites surrendered their short-lived lead at the top of the Championship on Good Friday, briefly moving top on goal difference after Leicester’s shock defeat only to fall behind Ipswich despite a battling draw at Watford.
Crysencio Summerville was once again the star of the show, scoring a stunning goal to level things after Vakoun Bayo had opened the scoring for the hosts, but it took a classic poacher’s goal from late substitute Mateo Joseph to escape Vicarage Road with a point.
| Summerville vs Watford | Stat | Leeds Rank |
| Shots | 4 | 1st |
| Shots on target | 4 | 1st |
| Dribbles | 3 | 1st |
| Key passes | 2 | 1st |
| Times fouled | 4 | 1st |
And Farke may well have to utitlise the depth of his squad again on Monday, as he will definitely be without Wilfried Gnonto, Stuart Dallas, Connor Roberts and Pascal Struijk, as per the latest team news from The Yorkshire Evening Post.
It looks as though the manager will have to juggle things around in midfield a bit – or risk burning out the same group who started the match on Friday – with £15,000-a-week midfielder Ilia Gruev also facing a race against time to make the squad.
Ilia Gruev injury update
The latest news on Gruev’s injury is that he’s a “major doubt” for Monday’s action after picking up a knock on international duty with Bulgaria.
The 23 year-old, who has started 14 Championship matches this season and come off the bench nine times in the competition, has become a bit of an unsung hero within the squad, completing 92.6% of his passes in the league this season, leading Adrian Clarke to say he’s player “no one really talks about “.
“He is class, he really is a smooth operator in the heart of the engine room,” Clarke said earlier this season. “Gets about the pitch, recovers possession kind of effortlessly but he does with the ball. He just moves it early and quickly but with real quality and rarely gives the ball away. He can drop a pass over the top of a defender all day long for those wide players.”
It looks like Leeds will have to make do without those abilities against Hull unless he passes a late fitness test, after Farke revealed in the aftermath of the draw at Watford: “The only player who has perhaps a chance is Ilia Gruev. We have to wait how the swelling will develop and perhaps there is some positive news with him.”
The manager will be desperate to get Roberts, Gnonto and the Bulgaria international back for the run-in, with Dallas and Struijk ruled out for the rest of the season.
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