Junior Firpo on Leeds United team-mate he watched on TV as Whites hope for best-case comeback
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When Daniel Farke revealed the extent of Largie Ramazani's ankle problem on October 25 he gave what the club believed were the best case and worst case scenarios.
"It's bad news, we've assessed him and sadly it's a serious ligament injury," said Farke. "Thank God he doesn't need surgery but he will be out for four to six weeks. He could be back at the end of November but it could be the start of December depending on how the rehab goes."
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Hide AdBefore November ends Leeds will have played Swansea City, Luton Town and Blackburn Rovers. Their first December fixture is a home game against Derby County on December 7. A four-week absence would bring Ramazani back in time for the trip to Swansea but returning from injury and appearing on the pitch are two different things, particularly when you have spent a month or more on the sidelines. Regardless of when he makes his reappearance, Ramazani will provide Farke and Leeds with a huge boost because his pace, trickery and unpredictability has been missed.
His partner on the left flank, Junior Firpo, admits as such. "I think we're gonna miss him while he's out, because he's a really good player," said the left-back. "He has a lot of things that help the team."
When Leeds signed Ramazani from Almeria he had the look of a player who could excite in the Championship. The reality has matched expectation thus far, not only in terms of the three goals and the assist the Belgian has contributed. In a division where real pace can make a difference, he is a speedster. He runs directly at defences and into gaps. He wants to beat players. And concerns over his stamina were steadily being put to bed when he went over on his ankle in a heavy challenge against Watford.
Firpo knew what he might be able to expect from the new man playing down the touchline from him but has still had his eyebrows raised at Ramazani's impact.
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"He's surprised me a lot," he told the YEP. "I knew him from the past, because obviously he played in LaLiga, and I still watch some games of Betis, my hometown team and the team that I support the most. So I watched him, I knew Largie before, and I knew what type of player he was. And to be fair, he has impressed me a lot, because when you first come to a new team, obviously to be the replacement of the best player of the year last season [Crysencio Summerville] it is kind of difficult. But I think he doesn't feel the pressure like he has to replace someone. He just came here and started to shine as the player he is. I've found it really good to play with him. Also, he does speak Spanish very well so we can speak in Spanish and I think this helps a little bit. English is not a problem, you can see that my English is quite good, so it's not [just] because we speak the same language, but obviously it helps a little bit."
However should Ramazani not be ready for Swansea or even for Luton, Blackburn or Derby, Firpo will not be unduly concerned. Leeds have Daniel James and Manor Solomon back fit again to rejoin Willy Gnonto in Farke's wide options. Isaac Schmidt has also come off the bench for cameos on the wing. Brenden Aaronson can play on the right. Joe Gelhardt has done so too. Firpo believes that the number of options for various positions is something this squad has more than the 2023/24 Leeds United did.
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Hide Ad"I think one thing that for sure we have this year that we maybe didn't have last season is depth in the squad," he said. "You can see two really important players for us [Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev] got injured for a long time, and then Joe [Rothwell] and Ao [Tanaka] came to the team, and they are doing brilliant. You know, when the other two come back, I don't know what's gonna happen. The manager will have to decide, it's his job. So it's the same in the wingers. We have a good team, we have really good options. I think whoever plays is going to be ready."
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