Daniel Farke provided mixed news on the injury front ahead of Leeds United’s trip to Middlesbrough on Monday.
The Leeds boss confirmed Connor Roberts will be out for the next two matches having suffered a recurrence of the muscle issue he picked up on international duty with Wales recently.
Roberts missed both games over the Easter period against Watford and Hull City, before then returning as a half-time substitute in Leeds‘ first defeat of 2024 at Coventry City.
After another cameo appearance against Sunderland, he then played just over an hour last weekend, which seemingly was too soon, as he will now miss games against Middlesbrough and QPR.
Pascal Struijk, Jamie Shackleton and Stuart Dallas were Leeds’ only absentees against Blackburn Rovers, though in the case of the former and the latter, they are out for the season anyway.
Farke shares some ‘good news’ on injury front for Leeds
With Roberts now missing, Leeds are again a little short at right-back and in central midfield. Archie Gray is more than likely to be moved back into defence, having started alongside Ilia Gruev last week.
That would mean Glen Kamara returns to the starting XI, leaving Leeds without a backup central midfielder on the bench. Sam Byram is another option, but Gray at right-back and Kamara in midfield has been Farke’s trusted selection in 2024.
However, speaking in his pre-match press conference earlier today, Farke did have some ‘good news’ to bring on the fitness of Jamie Shackleton.
Shackleton has missed Leeds’ last three matches through injury but is set to return to full team training tomorrow. He will provide extra cover at full-back, and in midfield.
Having said that, Monday’s trip to the Riverside is likely to come too soon for the 24-year-old, according to Farke.
He said: “Jamie not in team training yet, but from tomorrow. Could be the game comes too soon for him. Good news with him.”
Will Shackleton be handed a new deal at Leeds?
Shackleton is one of seven players out of contract at Leeds this summer, and at this stage, it would appear an agreement isn’t on the horizon.
Having made a promising start to the season, which heightened the prospect of a new deal, Shackleton has struggled badly with injuries for a number of months now.
He played a handful of minutes in Leeds’ last win this season against Hull City, which ended up keeping him out for the next three.
Leeds can ill afford to be handing out deals to players who have been as unreliable as he has fitness wise this season, as much of a useful squad option he does provide.