Daniel Farke, the manager of Leeds United, will hold his pre-Norwich City press conference this afternoon. It is quite possible that the German will discuss whether or not Willy Gnonto and Djed Spence will make a comeback.
The international break that lasted till October is over, as this week sees Leeds’ players who were away on national team duties gradually return to Thorp Arch. The match on Saturday afternoon against Farke’s former team, Norwich, may prove too soon for some of the United players who are still recovering from injuries, like Stuart Dallas. However, when Farke meets with the media at Thorp Arch, the main topics of discussion will be the situation of on-loan defender Spence and Italy international Gnonto.
Leeds has only lost once in their past nine league games, so they haven’t suffered too much without the two, despite their injuries keeping them out for several weeks. As has historically happened when healthy, Gnonto did not travel with Luciano Spalletti’s Italy squad this month, and Spence also stayed at Leeds’ training facility following a few days off that were given to all non-international players at the team.
The two could only be considered for selection at Carrow Road this Saturday if they have been integral to team training this week, as Farke had previously provided an ambiguous explanation of when they could return to the field. That is in accordance with Farke’s own policies, which state that in order for a player to be selected for the matchday squad, they must have trained extensively before to the game.
William’s operation went well, but he won’t be back until after the international break. End of September: Farke stated, “Djed needs time and also won’t be involved until after the break.” While Spence received a knee injury during training a month ago and was initially advised to be sidelined for up to eight weeks, Gnonto got an ankle injury in the 0-0 draw with Hull City at the MKM Stadium and required minor surgery to address a separate condition.
“We can confirm that Djed Spence, a defender for Leeds United, has torn his lateral collateral ligament after receiving scans on his knee injury sustained during a challenge during training last week.
On September 18, the club released a statement saying, “We expect Djed to return to play within eight weeks and the injury is not expected to require surgery.”
Farke is also expected to disclose whether any of Leeds’ international players—which include players like Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Dan James, Glen Kamara, Archie Gray, Liam Cooper, and Ilia Gruev—have had injuries while playing for their respective nations.
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