Leeds United 'most difficult' injury crisis of the season with fresh issues and key man doubt
Daniel Farke has given his Leeds United team news ahead of Sunday’s final home game of the season against Brighton.
Leeds United are facing their 'most difficult' injury situation of the season ahead of the penultimate 2025/26 Premier League game at home to Brighton.
It was recently reported that the Whites had the best record in the top flight for game days missed through injury, but Daniel Farke has revealed how stretched his squad is ahead of the Elland Road meeting with Brighton.
Gabriel Gudmundsson injured his hamstring in the latter stages of the FA Cup semi-final defeat by Chelsea at Wembley. The Swede has missed the last two Premier League outings.
Jayden Bogle was an absentee on Monday night at Spurs having hurt his hamstring in a gym activation session prior to the trip to the capital. Facundo Buonanotte also missed out with a similar issue, though he could not play against his parent club Brighton regardless. And winger Noah Okafor sat out with a calf problem.
And with Ilia Gruev already out for the season with a knee issue and doubts hanging over Pascal Struijk and Ethan Ampadu, Leeds could be down to the bare bones on Sunday.
"The most difficult we've had in the whole season”
"A bit tricky situation perhaps," said Farke. "The most difficult we've had in the whole season. We can do it with a smile because we've achieved our big goal but it's not ideal.
“Ilia [Gruev] is out for the season, Noah [Okafor] is not available, Gabi is not available, Jayden not available, Facundo not eligible, big doubt on Pascal, Ethan Ampadu a major doubt with illness and was not in training today.
“We'll try to send a competitive side onto the pitch and we want to finish as strong as possible. I back my players still to deliver one more top performance at home and hopefully on the last game day. In this game we definitely need our supporters."
On Monday Farke dipped into the club's academy to fill his bench, putting teenagers Rhys Chadwick and Jayden Lienou into the matchday squad. It's likely they could be involved again this weekend. But Farke is also pleased with the performances of those who came off the bench in the draw at Spurs.
"I quite like to have teenagers on the bench like 17-year-old Jayden Lienou, these guys are our future," he said. "It's a good experience for them and a good learning curve.
“But the substitutions, Seb [Bornauw] was excellent when he came on, Sean [Longstaff] nearly won the game for us. Lucas [Nmecha] was in a really good shape, Willy [Gnonto] had a decent impact."