Good Morning. It's Friday 22nd August, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road MCL injury to rule skipper out until after international break Leeds United skipper Ethan Ampadu is set to miss at least three matches after sustaining a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury in his right knee during the 1-0 win against Everton on Monday night. The Wales international was the victim of a cynical foul by Tim Iroegbunam, leaving him in considerate pain. Daniel Farke initially hoped it was just bruising, but later confirmed the MCL injury during Thursday's pre match presser. Ampadu will miss the upcoming Arsenal visit, the Carabao Cup clash at Sheffield Wednesday, and the Newcastle United match. Farke expressed his disappointment, stating that Ampadu is a tough player and a key figure both on the field and in the dressing room. The Leeds captain has proven his worth and is expected to be an important player for the team. The one positive for Leeds is that Ampadu may return for the Fulham game on September 13, after the international break. please log in to view this image Leeds stick to original plan to snap up Justin Leeds United are poised to complete the signing of versatile Leicester City wing-back James Justin, despite a recent injury scare that briefly threatened to derail the move. After Justin sustained a knock against Preston last weekend, Leeds began exploring contingency plans, a search intensified by Werder Bremen's growing pressure to finalise a loan deal for Isaac Schmidt. This led the club to consider several alternatives, including Ipswich Town’s Ben Johnson, Chelsea’s Alfie Gilchrist, and James Hill of Bournemouth. However, favourable developments have since allowed the Whites to return to their original target. News that Justin's injury is not as serious as initially feared, combined with the timely return to fitness of Jaidon Bogle, has eased the club's concerns over their defensive depth. Consequently, Leeds have decided to press ahead with their initial plan and are expected to finalise the transfer in the coming days. The 27-year-old, who operates primarily as an attacking right-back is also proficient on the left, and will provide quality competition, and crucial cover for Gabriel Gudmundsson. please log in to view this image
Got to say I'm pretty happy with our signings this closed season,I think we have a good chance of staying up.
Morning all No idea if the Leicester lad is any good or not, either way it’s surely got to be better than no cover If we’re going to have an early injury at least it’s a position where we have lots of cover
Not worried about the odd player picking up three or four week injuries in this division. We'll have numbers in squad to cope. All teams get them. Arsenal and Spurs were ravaged by injuries for chunks of last season for example. Ampadu probably only missing one game that matters, the Newcastle one
Justin is the DCL of fullbacks. Once highly thought of, since ravaged by injuries and poor form (possibly related). Another who IF he rediscovered his form would be an asset that is happy playing both left and right back. I’ve not personally watched/noticed much of him. Emu thinks it would be a shocker of a signing.
i've done a milkyboy exclusive 2 minute desk research on him for leicester fan feedback. It's mixed. Some think he's simply not been the same since his ACL, whilst some think it was leicester's tactics and general incompetence that hung him out to dry defensively. He got pelters for being caught out of position a lot last season but we've seen that with recent leeds managers where the fullbacks have licence to roam and the guy out of position in transition is more likely the one who's meant to cover for him/provide the rest defence. So some think he wasn't really the problem. Some still rate him and a few others comment that he's too good for the champ not good enough for the PL. Which is not an untypical assessment of yoyo club players. Hopefully if fit and integrated into the farke system... where he will be allowed to advance, but hopefully with other's covering... he can provide good cover to both flanks.
Before James Justin did his ACL he was a great full back. Very physically gifted. Since then he's lost a yard of pace which was a huge part of his game. Because of his injury he now has a series of niggles to deal with and is consistently injured.
