Leeds United man's FA Cup absence explained as fresh winger concern emerges at Birmingham
Leeds United winger Noah Okafor was forced off during the second-half of Sunday's FA Cup win at Birmingham.
Leeds United lost one winger to a back problem prior to an FA Cup fourth round win at Birmingham City that saw another winger suffer a hamstring issue.
Daniel James was a late withdrawal from the squad that travelled to St Andrews for Sunday's lunchtime kick-off. Leeds were dominated by their Championship hosts in the first half and needed penalties to make it through to the fifth round.
James was struggling with a back issue the day before the game, having missed huge chunks of the season through a variety of problems. The Welsh international's pre-season was disrupted by injury and has suffered abdominal, ankle and hamstring issues since then, restricting him to just four Premier League starts.
Compounding Farke's concern was the sight of Noah Okafor limping off in the second half at Birmingham having grabbed his hamstring after a run to the byline a couple of minutes prior. The Swiss winger had treatment on the pitch but had to come off to be replaced.
"After a sprint he felt a bit in his muscle," said Farke. "I hope it's a cramp but we have to assess him. Daniel James reported some problems with his back and wasn't able to sprint yesterday so we had to leave him out. I hope Noah is not another offensive player out."
Leeds were missing both Pascal Struijk and Anton Stach for the FA Cup clash but both could return for the next Premier League outing at Aston Villa next weekend.