Leeds United strikers Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are fitness doubts for Saturday’s Premier League match at home to Liverpool.
Daniel Farke has not ruled out the pair, who starred in Wednesday’s 3-1 win at home to Chelsea, but admits he will have to make a late decision after they complained of hamstring and calf issues, respectively.
Daniel James and Sean Longstaff continue their rehabilitation from hamstring and calf issues of their own, but everyone else still has a chance of facing Liverpool.
“No fresh injury concerns,” said Farke in his pre-match press conference. “We have definitely Daniel James and Sean Longstaff out. We need to take some late decisions, like always when you have such a quick turnaround.
“We have a few players who are a bit more major doubts. Lukas Nmecha has some hamstring problems after last game. We have to assess if he is available.
“Dominic Calvert-Lewin is with some calf problems after the last game. There is also a question mark behind his availability.
“We have players with lots of load, not just in this game, but also over the course of the last games, especially in the positions where you have to invest a lot, like the wing-back positions or midfield positions.”
Ao Tanaka was another name Farke flagged as someone who has put a lot into the Manchester City and Chelsea matches.
“We have to see who will be fully recovered,” he said. “For some players, it’s, of course, a bit easier once you’re used to this load of three games in seven days.
“Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu are a bit more used to it, but also the players who have just joined us in the summer, for example, from perhaps a league who didn’t have the intensity like the Premier League.
“For them, it’s perhaps even a bit more difficult, but positive we have shared the load so far. Anton Stach and Gabi Gudmundsson were not too much involved against Man City. This is a bit helpful.
“With Ao Tanaka, it’s a bit more tricky because he has played both games, many minutes, in a position where he had to invest a lot. Hopefully, at the moment, he’s in the ice bath. At least he was there before I joined you here in the press conference and we have to see how quickly he will recover.”