Leeds United man breathes sigh of relief after international break development and 'cotton wool' comment

The Leeds boss has made clear in recent press conferences that he and his fitness coaches are aware of the strain under which United’s players will come this season, even going as far to say he wished he could wrap breakthrough youngster Archie Gray in ‘cotton wool’ ahead of the international break.

Therefore, the German will have breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday night upon discovering that neither Ampadu or Rodon featured in Wales’ friendly fixture with Gibraltar.

Daniel James was initially left on the bench to begin with, but was summoned as early as the 15th minute due to an injury to Wes Burns and subsequently went on to provide two assists in the routine 4-0 victory against the 198th FIFA-ranked nation.

Leeds’ Welsh trio are vastly experienced at international level, having accrued 131 caps between them. Rodon and James are both just 25 years old, while Ampadu turned 23 in September, meaning all three are in line to make a century of Wales appearances before calling time on their international careers.

Fortunately for Leeds, Rob Page’s decision to leave Ampadu and Rodon as unused substitutes on the night will have given the pair a much-needed reprieve following a hectic start to the 2023/24 campaign. Ampadu has featured in every Leeds fixture this season, while Rodon has played eight times in Leeds’ opening 11 Championship games.

Both are likely to start against Croatia on Sunday in Wales’ crucial European Championships qualifier, such is the magnitude of that game, along with James whose unplanned 75-minute run-out on Wednesday produced his fifth and sixth assists of the season for club and country.

Having been rested for the win over Gibraltar, there will now be a reduced risk of Ampadu or Rodon sustaining a workload-related injury in particular, before returning to Thorp Arch next week.