Leeds United have been dealt a blow on the personnel front after it emerged that one player may miss the final weeks of the season through injury.
Leeds face crucial three games
With just three games left of the Championship season, Leeds will likely have to win all of them to be confident of securing promotion back to the Premier League via the automatic promotion spots come the end of the campaign.
The Whites were on an excellent run since the turn of the year, but one win in their last five Championship outings has firmly put pay to that and leaves them outside the top two as things stand and on course for the play-offs, having played a game more than Leicester City.
Championship table 23/24 |
||||||
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal Difference |
Points |
Ipswich Town |
43 |
26 |
11 |
6 |
32 |
89 |
Leicester City |
42 |
28 |
4 |
10 |
41 |
88 |
Leeds United |
43 |
26 |
9 |
8 |
42 |
87 |
Southampton |
42 |
25 |
9 |
8 |
30 |
84 |
Worse yet, they face a resurgent Southampton at Elland Road on the final day of the season, in a game that could define both sides’ seasons. The Saints have picked up steam again after a midseason wobble and are ruthlessly closing the gap on the top three sides, currently sitting just three points behind Leeds with a game in hand on Daniel Farke’s side.
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First though, Leeds have to travel to the Riverside Stadium to take on Middlesbrough on Monday night, with Micheal Carrick’s side unbeaten in their last five games and set to prove a tough test. Now, they have been handed an injury blow to make it tougher.
Leeds defender could miss run in
That comes as defender Connor Roberts could miss the final games of the league season after aggravating a previous injury.
Roberts arrived in January on loan from Burnley and has appeared 11 times since, grabbing a goal and an assist. Journalist Will Lancaster has previously hailed him a “top quality Championship right back”, and the 28-year-old has provided cover and competition for talented teenager Archie Gray.
The Athletic’s Phil Hay shared the update on X, saying he may not feature at all before May 4th.
Speaking ahead of the clash with Boro, Farke labelled it as ‘bad news’.
“Connor Roberts bad news, his muscle showed a reaction after the last game, he will definitely miss the two upcoming away games. Perhaps there’s a chance for him to return for Southampton. We tried to be really careful with him, gave him a few shorter appearances, perhaps last time we were not careful enough last game. He will miss next two games but this is more or less the only bad news. All other players except Pascal Struijk are available.”
Though it will come as a blow for Leeds to lose anyone with so much still to play for, they will be hoping that Gray’s continued excellence will mask Roberts’ absence at fullback for the final three weeks of the season.