Leeds: Worrying injury update emerges on Farke’s “combative” star
The Leeds boss has suffered a major blow to his squad…
Leeds United haven’t exactly got off to a flying start on their return to the Championship, but a comfortable 3-0 victory over Millwall in their most recent outing shows that Daniel Farke’s side are at least finding their feet.
The international break was clearly needed, and seems to have given the former Norwich City boss the chance to collect himself, before solving his side’s problems. At The Den, it wasn’t always easy, but the quality of Leeds’ attack paid dividends as they earned their second win of the season in style.
Despite the victory, it’s not all good news, though, with Farke confirming that one star is set to be out of action for an extended spell after suffering an injury in the build-up to the Millwall clash.
What’s the latest Leeds United injury news?
Those at Elland Road were already forced to compete without both Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas before being dealt yet another serious injury blow in defence. The absences do not come at an ideal time, either, with the fixtures set to come thick and fast, particularly towards the festive period. The fact is, the last thing that the Whites needed was more bad news on the injury front.
Yet, as confirmed by Farke, the joy from the Millwall win was quickly quietened, with Djed Spence set for an extended spell on the sidelines. Farke said, via The Nottingham Post: “Yes, sadly sad news with Spence because Djed has done his lateral ligaments. He will be out for several weeks so we wait for further assessment.
“It seems like no surgery is needed but we have to wait for the further assessment. He will definitely miss out the next weeks. We will have to wait but to give you a timeframe for this but he’s definitely out for a few weeks.”
The news becomes even worse when you consider that Spence is only on loan at Elland Road from Tottenham Hotspur, and the Yorkshire club would, therefore, have hoped to get a full season out of him to judge if they should make a permanent move in 2024.
How has Djed Spence performed this season?
It’s a real shame for Spence, who would have been looking to get his Leeds stint going after the international break, having made just one appearance for the club prior to that.
With plenty of Championship experience under his belt, too, after making over 100 appearances in England’s second tier, the Spurs loanee could have played a key part in kickstarting Leeds’ season, who won just once in their opening four games, before defeating Millwall at the weekend. Instead, the full-back will be forced to watch from the sidelines.
When at his best, Spence has received high praise from the likes of Ian Wright, who said on the Wrighty’s House Podcast, via The Nottingham Post: “I saw him after the game and said ‘listen, my friend. You’re on loan from Middlesbrough and I don’t know what’s happened there, because if you can’t get into the Middlesbrough side, I don’t know what’s wrong, so I need to know the full story’.
“But let me say, that was one of the best right back performances I have seen for a very long time. A very long time. If we are talking about right-backs performing at an unbelievable level, we’re talking Reece James and Trent (Alexander-Arnold). But I have not seen a combative, technical, swashbuckling performance like that for a very long time.”
