Double injury watch & Jean-Matteo Bahoya hope as 13 Leeds United stars in action this weekend
It’s set to be a busy weekend for over a dozen Leeds United stars.
Leeds United’s international stars look set for a busy and hopefully successful weekend across the continent and beyond.
A total of 13 first-team players set off for international duty earlier this week, joined by Under-21s star Jayden Lienou. As yet, none have played any football with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Trafford unused substitutes during England’s 2-1 win over Croatia on Thursday.
That looks set to change this evening, with the potential for four Leeds players to represent their countries. The most intriguing game from a Whites perspective comes in the Nations League when Jaka Bijol’s Slovenia host Switzerland and Nico Elvedi.
Bijol recently opened up on his disappointment at effectively being replaced by Elvedi in the Leeds starting-XI this season, with competition fierce in the heart of defence. He’ll have a chance to get one over on his positional rival this evening in what’s set to be a tight game.
Elsewhere this evening, Ilia Gruev’s Bulgaria host Iceland in the Nations League while Jean-Matteo-Bahoya should get some minutes when France Under-21 face their Italian counterparts. The speedy winger scored for his country in the last break and will hope to build some momentum ahead of returning to Leeds.
There’s a big day of international football kicking off early on Saturday, with Ao Tanaka set to feature when Japan host Brazil in a friendly that kicks off at 10.15am UK time. The main game from a Leeds perspective then comes at 5pm when Wales travel to Norway in the Nations League.
A total of five Leeds players are in the Wales squad with four holding a reasonable chance of starting. Eyes will no doubt be on Joe Rodon, who only returned from a 10-week hamstring injury off the bench against former club Tottenham Hotspur last weekend but insists he’s fit to do battle with Erling Haaland.
Harry Wilson could also get a start as he looks to build on an encouraging last couple of games for Leeds before the break. The winger’s start to life at Elland Road has been slow but showed signs of speeding up against Bournemouth and Tottenham. Daniel James and Ethan Ampadu could also feature, with Lienou expected to get a watching brief.
Like Rodon, Gabriel Gudmundsson is another heading into the international break with an injury to manage having been forced off at half-time last weekend. Sweden boss Graham Potter hinted he will be fit to face Bosnia and Herzegovina, although there’ll be no reunion with Tarik Muharemovic who is suspended.
The second round of international fixtures come around quickly on Sunday, with England facing Spain in Madrid for a place atop their Nations League group. The Three Lions need a win which will likely rule out a start for Calvert-Lewin, while it remains to be seen if Thomas Tuchel will rotate goalkeepers again.