Whilst Leeds United eased past Coventry City in a dominant 3-0 victory, their celebrations may be short-lived, with those at Elland Road now left hoping that a star man has avoided an ACL injury.
Leeds injury news
The Whites already entered their game against Coventry without the likes of Maximilian Wober and Manor Solomon in two frustrating blows for Daniel Farke, who could do without mounting injury struggles. However, in the face of those absences, it was still business as usual. Farke’s side swept Coventry to one side, courtesy of goals from Wilfried Gnonto, Jayden Bogle and Joel Piroe in an excellent display.
Having taken all three points, Leeds now sit fifth and just two points below West Bromwich Albion at the top of the Championship, who lost for the first time this season in a shock result against Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.
With just how tight things are at the top, Leeds could do with a full squad to choose from, but injuries to Solomon, Wober and now potentially another star man may leave Farke scrambling for options.
According to BBC Sport’s Adam Pope (as reported by The Leeds Press), Leeds are now sweating over concerns that Ethan Ampadu suffered an ACL injury against Coventry. The defensive midfielder was forced off at half-time, having initially attempted to run his injury off – perhaps only making matters worse by doing so.
Farke revealed that the £40,000-a-week star will now be assessed, telling reporters: “Our most important player. We have to wait for the assessment.”
If Ampadu’s injury is long-term, then there’s no doubt that Leeds will face a major problem in pursuit of automatic promotion, with their Welshman a crucial part of Farke’s side, as reiterated by the manager himself.
“Important” Ampadu will be a big miss
A doubt for the Norwich City game on Tuesday at the very least, Ampadu’s absence will provide Farke’s side with a frustrating blow in every game that the midfielder misses, whether that’s just a handful of fixtures or for months to come.
The former Chelsea man has finally found his place in senior football, becoming Farke’s most important player in a Leeds side gunning for a return to the Premier League at the second time of asking.
Prior to coming off against Coventry, the club captain had played almost every minute of Championship football this season, starting from the off in every single fixture in all competitions so far this season. One of the first names on the teamsheet, Leeds must now ask the likes of Ao Tanaka to step up in place of the Welshman.
The summer arrival replaced Ampadu after his injury last time out, and he could be asked to do a similar job against Norwich and beyond. Replacing such an important player will be a near-impossible task, but if there’s any time for the Whites’ summer business to pay dividends, they’ll hope it’s in the next few weeks.
