Leeds United suffer major injury blow as key man ruled out of Sunderland clash

Leeds United will be missing a key man when Sunderland make the journey to Elland Road next month. The Black Cats are due to travel to West Yorkshire on Tuesday 9 April after a hectic Easter schedule and they'll have high hopes of completing the double over the Whites, having beaten Daniel Farke's men back in December at the Stadium of Light.

Both teams have three games still to play before the meeting but Leeds have already seen Pascal Struijk ruled out of the contest. The defender has been struggling with a groin injury and hasn't been seen in Farke's side since Boxing Day.

There was hope that the Dutchman would fit enough to return to action in time to have a say in Leeds' final few games of the campaign as they push for automatic promotion. However, Farke has confirmed that Struijk will not feature again this season after undergoing surgery during the international break. As such, Leeds will be without the man who captained them through the first half of the campaign against Sunderland.

"A decision was made," Farke said on Struijk's situation. "He already had his surgery last Monday, long and complicated, more than two hours, it went well. He started his first steps in the rehab process. He will miss out the rest of the season."

Struijk's absence means Leeds are likely to enter the Sunderland game with a centre-half pairing of Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu, which is how they've lined up since the turn of the year. However, the club have Liam Cooper and Charlie Cresswell fit and available should Farke feel the need to rotate at the back.

Leeds have also seen Georginio Rutter go under the knife this month, but the Frenchman is expected to return in time to take on Sunderland. Mike Dodds' side face Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers and Bristol City in the Championship before making the trip to Yorkshire.