Leeds United v Real Sociedad injury news as 8 sidelined and 9 doubts

A number of injury issues are facing both Leeds United and Real Sociedad ahead of the two sides facing off in a friendly clash this week. The Whites welcome the Spanish side to Elland Road on Friday night in the first of two home friendlies ahead of the return of competitive club football after Christmas.

Leeds will have been sidelined for well over a month by the time they return to competitive action, due to the World Cup. That makes these friendly clashes all the more important for Jesse Marsch and his men, with Leeds needing to hit the ground running to avoid being caught up in a relegation race heading into the new year.

In contrast, Real Sociedad, or La Real, as they are also known, are enjoying a fine season so far, currently sitting third in La Liga, while they have also secured a spot in the next round of the Europa League, topping a group that featured Manchester United. Ahead of the friendly, Leeds have a number of injury issues, with as many as 10 possible absentees, including four who are more or less certain to miss out and six more who are doubts.

Patrick Bamford, Luis Sinisterra, Stuart Dallas and Diego Llorente are all expected to miss out. Meanwhile, Crysciencio Summerville and Sonny Perkins both limped off in the friendly with Elche and could miss out here.

Illan Meslier and Kristoffer Klaesson are doubts with illness, while Junior Firpo is a doubt as he works back towards full fitness from a groin issue. Robin Koch is also a doubt with an Achilles problem.

Marsch said after the win over Elche: “Robin picked up a little bit of an Achilles, calf issue, so he couldn’t play, we used Coops a little bit more on the right centre-back but one real positive is I think Pascal’s played now left centre-back against Preston and in this match and I thought he was good in both matches. We’re trying to push Leo a little bit more, so some some positives in there.”

Returning World Cup stars Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams and Rasmus Kristensen are said to be in contention. Meanwhile, for Real Sociedad, three players have been ruled out, while three more are expected to be sidelined for this one. Martin Marquelanz, Mikel Oyarzabal and Umar Sadiq are all sidelined, while Ander Barrenetxea, Carlos Fernandez and Benat Turrientes are all serious doubts. Returning World Cup stars Takefuso Kubo and Alexander Sorloth are expected to be available for this one.