Triple Leeds United injury boost as Daniel Farke 'concerns' spotted in training ahead of Cardiff City clash

Leeds United trio Junior Firpo, Joe Rothwell and Manor Solomon were all present in a recent training video amid ongoing doubts over their fitness ahead of Saturday’s trip to Cardiff City.

Daniel Farke confirmed on Thursday that all three have been managing issues through the week, with Firpo feeling problems with the medial collateral ligament in his knee while Rothwell rolled his ankle. On-loan winger Solomon was labelled the ‘biggest question mark’ by his manager due to an issue in his back.

Farke was optimistic the aforementioned issues can be managed going into the weekend and the presence of all three in a training video uploaded on Thursday evening suggests as much. It is unclear exactly what day the session was filmed but Firpo, Rothwell and Solomon are all fully involved in first-team, full contact fitness and possession drills.

One notable absence is Joe Rodon, who was the fourth fresh concern revealed by Farke on Thursday. The Welsh defender is experiencing issues with his gluteal muscles and was the only doubt confirmed to have missed two sessions during the week, one of which looks to have been filmed and shared online.

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As with Firpo, Rothwell and Solomon, Farke insisted he was ‘cautiously optimistic’ Rodon will be fit to face Cardiff and so it looks like late calls will be made on all four. Israeli international Solomon is expected to be the biggest doubt going into Saturday.

Elsewhere in the video, Patrick Bamford is fully involved as the striker continues to build fitness, following a lengthy spell out over the summer and a smaller issue earlier this season. He returned to training last week and isn’t yet expected to start, with Leeds keen not to rush the 31-year-old back and happy to keep starting Mateo Joseph upfront.

Max Wober was not involved in the filmed session, but the defender was back in training on Thursday after missing the Burnley defeat with a knee problem. Farke did state the Austrian had undergone a ‘light session’, meaning he was unlikely to have been involved in full first-team drills. A late decision will be made on his availability.

Dan James is the other absentee and will definitely miss Saturday’s trip to Cardiff, having suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury ahead of the Burnley game. The Welshman is expected to be out until the October international break.