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The words injury blow and Leeds United have become rather synonymous with each other in the last year.
Marcelo Bielsa may have turned Leeds back into a side with swagger but there is still one huge problem and it may just have another colossal say in their bid for promotion.
Before Tuesday night’s defeat against Stoke in the Carabao Cup, the Whites were unbeaten this season. Indeed they still are in league action, sitting top of the Championship, but the injuries are still there for Leeds.
At the moment they’re missing Luke Ayling and Tyler Roberts, two individuals who have yet to feature in any form of football this term.
Players like Stuart Dallas, who scored against Stoke, and Adam Forshaw, who has completed 91.8% of his passes, have stepped up adequately but the fact remains that lingering fitness issues are still a concern.
If you were to walk into the Thorp Arch training ground, it would probably feel like an elephant in the room.
In mid-February last season, Leeds were staring down the barrel of a campaign that had 28 separate injury issues and a total of 140 games missed.
By early-April, that had risen to 31 issues. The number of games missed sat on 165 and that wasn’t even including those who were set to be ruled out for the season.
The sheer volume of injuries was nigh on absurd and it’s understandable if there were yet more worries about this in 2019/20.
As a result, a cunning policy that Bielsa adopted last Saturday needs to be implemented throughout the campaign.
Liam Cooper suffered an injury against Brentford on Pontus Jansson’s return to Elland Road and although it was a knock, aggravating an ankle issue, the Argentine decided to be cautious with his fitness, ultimately not selecting him for Leeds’ clash with Stoke in the Championship the following week.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, he told reporters: “He could have played today, but he wasn’t at 100 per cent.”
And therein lies what now must become a common theme in Leeds’ season. If a player isn’t fit enough and is a remote risk, they shouldn’t play.
Whatever Bielsa does in training clearly has an effect on his players and the very fact that there had been 31 issues by April last season tells the story.
There is more than just bad luck at play here.
That’s why he needs to be cunning and continue to use this policy going forward, especially if they’re targeting promotion.
Cooper was a major player for Leeds in 2018/19 and was named in the PFA Team of the Year. However, despite his impressive start to this season, conceding just twice alongside Ben White, he was left out against the Potters.
This was a sensible decision and one which proves that Bielsa is learning the lessons from last term.
It was a horrible campaign as far as injuries were concerned and it undoubtedly impacted on their failed promotion dream.
Knowing when to take risks separates the good from the great managers but at this early stage in the season there is no compulsion to gamble.
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If a player isn’t 100% up to the task they should be left on the substitutes bench or at home until they have fully recovered.
This might be more difficult given Leeds’ slim squad but it’s still a possibility with some of the young players they possess.
After all, it appears Leeds are developing Leif Davis from a left back into a central defender because of the sparsity of their options. He played there against Salford and Stoke in the EFL Cup.
It might be that this season we start to see a few more of the Whites’ big guns left out on occasions when perhaps they are just about fit enough to start the game.
The Championship is a strenuous division and after all of the issues they had during Bielsa’s first year at the helm, it would be sensible to rest star names when necessary.
With Cooper missing out last Saturday, that was a fine example of what will need to be done.
The 64-year-old must take this into consideration more often to ensure Leeds are well-placed for promotion.
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