Leeds United full-back suffers serious knee injury as treatment room's defensive problems mount

Jesse Marsch has revealed Leeds defender Harvey Sutcliffe picked up a serious knee injury during the young Whites’ latest fixture.

18-year-old Sutcliffe was withdrawn late on in United’s 1-0 victory over Sunderland on Monday night and left the Stadium of Light with the aid of crutches, whilst wearing a knee brace.

Further assessment has revealed the teenager has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which will leave him in the treatment room for an extended period of time.

Sutcliffe previously injured the same knee as an Under-16 player at Leeds, but managed to recover from that setback to become an important player for the Under-21 side this season.

The youngster provided the assist for Willy Gnonto's first goal in a Leeds shirt on Monday, before being forced off through injury.

He joins fellow defenders Leo Hjelde, Jeremiah Mullen and Keenan Carole in the treatment room, as well as sidelined midfielder Archie Gray.

“That's been diagnosed as a torn ACL. So we were all very disappointed for Harvey. You're right. I think he has been a very good player for the 20 ones and he has flexibility with where he can play in the backline,” Marsch said.

"I think he's doing better now and he knows what the process is and he knows he came back really strong from it the first time,” he added.

The young Whites have coped without the bulk of their back four this season, but Sutcliffe’s injury means the youngsters will need to find yet another solution at left-back.

It is expected that Under-18s defender James Debayo will be promoted to the Under-21 group on a more permanent basis, in part to cover for the various absences head coach Michael Skubala is faced with presently.

Sutcliffe shared an update on social media on Tuesday evening, posting: “Another 3 points, I’m gutted for the injury, the road to recovery starts now”, to which several of his teammates commented in support of the young defender.

"Archie [Gray] was on the pitch as well today feeling better with his broken toe but not available,” Marsch said, disclosing further details on Under-21 injuries.

"Leo [Hjelde]’s recovered well from his appendectomy and he was on the pitch today but won't be available for probably another week.”