Leeds United man’s player safety complaint potentially backfires as wish granted
Leeds United defender Junior Firpo will be among the final players to return to Thorp Arch following international duty this month.
United’s next Championship fixture takes them to South Wales where Swansea City await, however, Firpo is unavailable for selection.
The lateness of Firpo’s return after representing Dominican Republic against Dominica and Bermuda this month will not prove an issue, due to the retrospective suspension handed down to the full-back last week. Firpo was sanctioned by the FA after video footage from Leeds’ 1-0 defeat to Millwall appeared to show him motion his head towards Lions defender Danny McNamara, deemed violent conduct, which was initially missed by the match officials.
Nevertheless, since declaring his intention to represent the country of his birth earlier this year, Firpo has become Dominican Republic’s protagonist and their most high-profile player, operating much higher up the pitch than he does for Leeds. Last month, the defender scored three - including a ‘Panenka’ style penalty kick - during two 5-0 wins over Antigua and Barbuda as the Caribbean nation edged closer to a first appearance at the Concacaf Gold Cup.
Whilst Firpo’s international involvement is a feel-good story around Thorp Arch, there are obvious and understandable concerns surrounding the quality of playing surfaces in the Caribbean and an increased risk of injury due to more fixtures in the player’s calendar.
Firpo himself took issue with Concacaf’s organisation of the Nations League matches he took part in earlier this year, suggesting games should not be played in sweltering temperatures at midday.
As a result, Dominican Republic’s games this month will kick off in the evening, which also happens to be 11pm U.K. time, delaying his return to Leeds by several hours as well as affording the previously injury-plagued defender less recovery time between fixtures.
Should Concacaf heed Firpo’s advice henceforth, the prospect of Leeds having the 28-year-old back in team training ahead of a return to domestic action will be impacted.
Of course, after this month only one mid-season international break remains, in March. At the end of 2024/25, Firpo’s Leeds contract also expires. Should he extend his stay at Elland Road, though, this international fixture scheduling issue could persist.
As it stands, all of Leeds’ internationals called up this month will be back at Thorp Arch in plenty of time for United’s trip to Swansea, although that is not always the case. Brenden Aaronson was fast-tracked back to the United Kingdom on a private jet chartered by Fulham, aboard which were several other Premier League and Championship stars, after international commitments for the United States Men’s National Team during October.
Similarly, Ao Tanaka will regularly face return legs in excess of 14 hours when representing Japan on the international scene.
Due to the distance and travel times associated with cross-Atlantic transit, Firpo is already one of the later returnees following international duty.
Should Concacaf continue to schedule Dominican Republic fixtures, likely in Nations League A, for evening kick-offs, this would further delay the Leeds full-back’s Thorp Arch return, eating into preparation for the Whites’ next fixture.