Daniel Farke, the manager of Leeds United, disclosed that Ilia Gruev, an injured midfielder, was eager to participate in Friday’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland.
Leeds United played to a thrilling draw with Sunderland last week, and they enter the international break in fifth place in the Championship.
Due to a mistake made by Illan Meslier in the 96th minute, the Whites lost two points and would have been one point behind the leaders at the half.
Daniel Farke’s side are four unbeaten though, a solid feat given their injury problems. The most recent worry is Ilia Gruev, who was ruled out for months last week with a knee injury after coming off in the midweek draw against Norwich City.
Despite the serious injury though, the Leeds United star still wanted to play against Sunderland on Friday.
As quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Whites boss Farke said:
“Even on Wednesday he (Gruev) was there and quite positive, saying some painkillers boss and I think I’m available on Friday.
“The doctors said no, no, you’re not available, you won’t return back in this calendar year onto the pitch. It says a lot about his character, he’s a warrior.”
Midfield partner also out
Gruev’s midfield partner Ethan Ampadu has also been ruled out until January. The two have formed an impressive partnership for Leeds United over the past year.
However, Farke will now have to fare without both players for the foreseeable future.
The Whites now lack a backup center-back option due to Ampadu’s absence. Only Joe Rodon and vice captain Pascal Struijk are the obvious senior choices at the center of defense with Max Wober also out.
Who takes their place?
Losing Ampadu and Gruev is a major loss for Leeds United because the two holding midfielders are essential to the team’s structure. The two players who have settled in are Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell, who were signed in the summer.
Rothwell has made nine appearances for the team this season after joining on loan from Bournemouth in the summer. After playing for the Saints for the second half of the season and making 20 appearances, he was a major contributor to Southampton’s promotion the previous year.
Tanaka arrived from Fortuna Dusseldorf and has established a positive first impression.
But neither of them are inherently good at holding. This role represents a shift in responsibilities for both players because they both prefer to cover territory and participate moving forward.
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