Leeds United dealt massive injury blow ahead of Norwich City and Sunderland clashes
The latest injury news from Leeds United as they prepare to travel to Sunderland on Friday night.
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has confirmed Ethan Ampadu will miss Friday night’s visit to Sunderland and could remain on the sidelines for over two months.
The Wales international has become an integral figure for the Whites since he joined them in a £5.5m deal from Chelsea last summer and went on to make 54 appearances during his first season at Elland Road as his new side narrowly missed out on an immediate return to the Premier League. Ampadu has started all eight of the Whites’ competitive fixtures so far this season - but is now facing up to a lengthy spell out of the action after picking up a lateral knee ligament injury during the first-half of Saturday’s 3-0 home win against Coventry City.
"A few things we have to speak about today," said Farke ahead of Tuesday night’s visit to his former club Norwich City. "I have to confirm it's a serious knee injury, he has damaged his lateral ligament. The doctors have recommended conservative treatment so he doesn't need surgery. It's realistic to speak about 10 weeks before he returns to team training. You would expect him to be back at some point during December and obviously he needs a bit of team training before he's available back for the games, so we expect him to be just back available at some point in January."
The absence of Ampadu will see Pascal Struijk take over the Leeds captaincy for the foreseeable future and Farke has praised the Dutch defender for the step up he has made in recent weeks.
He said: "(There was a ) big step forward in his leadership skills and personality last season. During the whole season so far a key player and leader, fantastic performances. He could chip in with goals from penalties and set-pieces. It’s even more important that he delivers right now. I don’t expect him to do anything different than he’s done in recent weeks."
Ampadu is not the only Whites player that will miss the visit to the Stadium of Light as defender Max Wober will undergo knee surgery on Tuesday and is likely to be out of action for around six weeks. Wingers Dan James and Manor Solomon and full-back Isaac Schmidt will also miss Tuesday’s away game at Norwich and their availability for the game against Sunderland will also be under question.