Leeds United are facing injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s Championship match against Oxford United, with two key defenders doubtful for the fixture. Centre-back Pascal Struijk is struggling with a hamstring issue, while Max Wöber has suffered a setback following his return from a knee injury that kept him out of last week’s game at Preston North End.
Daniel Farke provided an update on Struijk, revealing that the Dutch defender has been dealing with tightness in his hamstring and has missed the last two training sessions. “Pascal has been struggling with some tightness in his hamstring. For him to be available, he needs to train on Friday, but at the moment, he’s a major doubt. The medical team has given him a 50-50 chance, as the scan wasn’t too bad, but it’s still uncertain,” said Farke.
Wöber, who had been sidelined for much of the season due to a knee injury, also remains a doubt for the game. The Austrian international played his first league start against Middlesbrough but was forced to miss the Preston game due to knee swelling. Farke explained, “After playing against Middlesbrough, Max had a heavy workload and his knee became slightly swollen, so we didn’t want to risk him at Preston. Unfortunately, he had another setback in training and couldn’t train today. At the moment, it seems unlikely that he’ll be available for Saturday.”
With both defenders potentially unavailable, Ethan Ampadu could return to the starting lineup. Ampadu has been recovering from knee ligament damage, but Farke stressed that the club will take a cautious approach with the Welshman’s return. “Ethan is making progress and getting better every day, but we’ll remain patient with him. Fortunately, the players in his position have been performing well, so there’s no need to rush his return,” said Farke.
In addition to Struijk and Wöber, midfielders Ilia Gruev and Junior Firpo remain sidelined with injuries and are not expected to return until the new year. Farke noted that Gruev could potentially resume training by January.
