Sheffield Wednesday vs Leeds United early injury news with 1 out and 2 doubts as depth issue a concern for Whites

Leeds United are back in action this Friday with a potentially tough trip to Sheffield Wednesday on the cards. Daniel Farke’s side are yet to win this season, with last week’s woeful 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat at home to Middlesbrough coming between draws against Portsmouth and West Brom.

It’s been a tough fortnight for those with a vested interest in Leeds, having seen Georginio Rutter’s £40million move to Brighton and Hove Albion develop in the midst of poor performances on the pitch, and pressure is already growing ahead of Friday’s clash. Wednesday started their season with a rampant 4-0 win against Plymouth Argyle but were sent crashing back down to earth after losing 4-0 at Sunderland on Sunday.

The Owls are much improved under Danny Rohl and will have eyes on a top-half finish, having scraped their way to survival last season, and a home Yorkshire derby will no doubt see them return to their best. Both managers will speak to the media shortly but the YEP has rounded up the latest early injury and team news beforehand.

Wednesday team news

Despite this early point of the campaign, Wednesday have a few fitness issues to contend with as pre-season injuries carry through. Summer signing Nathaniel Chalobah is yet to feature for his new club after picking up an injury in pre-season and remains a doubt for Friday evening, with Rohl insisting he will be assessed week-by-week.

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Ike Ugbo, who also joined permanently in January after a successful loan spell in South Yorkshire, also carried a fitness issue into the campaign but the striker was fit enough to come off the bench against Hull City in midweek and then at Sunderland. He could feature again against Leeds but most likely from the bench again.

Defender Akin Famewo remains a doubt after suffering a minor issue towards the end of pre-season, while another summer arrival in goalkeeper Ben Hamer looks set to be out for a longer spell.

Leeds team news

Farke has already spoken about the rarity of having a fully fit squad but Leeds look to have come through last weekend’s battling 0-0 draw at West Brom with no obvious issues. Max Wober was a doubt for the clash due to a calf issue, but the Austrian was fit enough for the bench and so should be okay to fulfil a similar role come Friday.

Depth is the obvious issue for Leeds, with just 19 senior squad players available to Farke as things stand - the thinnest group in the Championship by some margin. Fortunately, all 19 have remained fit and promising academy prospects such as Charlie Crew and James Debayo can be called up to the squad, as they were at West Brom.

Whether any new faces are involved in the squad remains to be seen but Leeds would have to get business wrapped up very quickly in order for any arrivals to be eligible. Recruitment chiefs remain in the market for two attackers, plus reinforcements in central midfield and at full-back.