Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has provided a comprehensive injury update as his team prepares to face Norwich City this Saturday.
The international break gave Farke two weeks to work with his non-international squad members, and the pause in the Championship season offered an opportunity for injured players to recover.
The most significant news revolves around the return of Wilfried Gnonto. The Italian international underwent ankle surgery following an injury sustained during the match against Hull City.
After a period of rehabilitation, he has returned to training. Although not yet at 100%, his presence adds depth to the squad, and he’s available for the upcoming game against Norwich.
In his pre-Norwich press conference ahead of the Norwich clash, Farke said (via Leeds Live): “Willy is back in team training since last Sunday, so no problems so far.
“Obviously, he hasn’t played for a while and can’t be considered 100%, but he looked sharp in training and is definitely a topic for the squad to travel with us and definitely is available for the game, which is definitely good news.”
Jamie Shackleton missed the victory over Bristol City due to a shoulder injury but has also returned to training, and he is being considered for the squad.
Loan signing Djed Spence is edging closer to his comeback following a knee injury, further bolstering Leeds’ options. Junior Firpo is also making progress.
“Junior Firpo was part of the group on Tuesday,” Farke added. “He had a full session yesterday.
“Today, he just trained individually because he was out for four or five months, so we have to be careful a bit. But he’s part-integrated in team training, which is good.
“The next step is that he can join us for the full training week and then definitely needs a few weeks to be ready and to be available, so it’s definitely not a topic for Norwich or whatever so it will last a couple of weeks.
Stuart Dallas is gradually reintegrating into training but will need additional time before he is ready to be considered for competitive action.