Leeds United and injuries haven’t exactly been seeing eye to eye this season, and that’s putting it lightly. Marcelo Bielsa’s pressers might aswell be an update on the latest injured player in the squad. Yesterday was no different, Barry Douglas and Kalvin Phillips declared injured, but two are on the way back.
Liam Cooper and Gaetano Berardi will be making their comebacks in the near future, playing under 23 games to regain some fitness. Berardi has been out for some time now and will give the whole club a huge boost on his return. In terms of committed and passionate players he’s right up there and we could have done with a player like that in the last few games when the going got tough. He can play anywhere across the back line, another massive boost to a squad and especially defence thin on the ground to say the least.
Bielsa: "Berardi is well now. We'll see during January when we can put him inside the team. The process is the same with Liam Cooper. The idea is that he plays with the Under-23s then with the first team." Cooper set to play for 23s on Monday #lufc
— Lee Sobot (@LeeSobotYEP) January 4, 2019
Second but by no means behind Berardi in any way is captain Liam Cooper. Although he’s had his problems in a Leeds shirt in previous years he has stepped up like never before this season under Marcelo Bielsa and has led a side that wants to follow him. His form in the main has been his best in his Leeds United career and his injury was a huge blow to the side as well as himself. His return, like Berardi’s can’t come soon enough.
Leeds still have a large injury list with these two returning. Kalvin Phillips and Barry Douglas joined it yesterday, although we are unsure on the extent of both we know Douglas will be out for a while. Patrick Bamford will be out for some time by the sounds of his latest setback and Izzy Brown is expected to be fit in mid-February, for the first-team that is. Jamal Blackman has returned to Chelsea and Tom Pearce remains injured, his return soon would be timely given that of Barry Douglas.
