Jesse Marsch's Leeds United pecking order reshuffle after serious injury to first team forward - YEP 8/3/22

Tyler Roberts’ season-ending hamstring tendon rupture is the latest in a long line of serious injuries at Leeds United this season.

By Graham Smyth

This week, he became the third Whites player to go under the knife for a hamstring problem, joining Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper who are now close to the end of their rehabilitation.

Phillips, Cooper, Patrick Bamford, Luke Ayling, Charlie Cresswell, Jamie Shackleton and Robin Koch have all spent months on the sidelines during a difficult campaign for Leeds, while players like Pascal Struijk, Diego Llorente and Rodrigo have sat out several games for various complaints.

Roberts also joined the list of those with rare, unique or freak injury occurrences, given the bizarre way in which his hamstring tendon ruptured. He stretched for a high ball with Daniel Amartey, who made contact with the Leeds man, and, when they landed, it was clear something had gone badly wrong for Roberts. Marsch is sure to face questions over why the forward, Leeds' final substitute at the King Power Stadium, remained on the pitch for around a quarter of an hour, despite not being able to run and showing signs of serious discomfort.

Struijk’s stress reaction in his foot happened when he kicked a ball in training, Rodrigo’s bi-lateral heel pain was something Marcelo Bielsa had never seen before, and one of Bamford’s injuries, the hamstring issue, was sustained in the celebration of a goal. Cresswell damaged his shoulder when a team-mate landed on him and it was a similar story for Joe Gelhardt’s ankle injury, close pal Sam Greenwood the unwitting culprit on that occasion. Greenwood himself has since had knee surgery and just returned to action.

Few have gone the season unscathed and a number have had to play through the pain barrier on numerous occasions, head of medicine and performance Rob Price finding his hands constantly full as he battles to get players fit and keep them healthy, or at least healthy enough to contribute. With a dozen games left, Leeds can scarcely afford to lose anyone from their small squad - much of their Premier League survival hope has already been pinned to the imminent returns of Bamford, Phillips and Cooper and set-backs for any of that trio, or indeed their fellow key players, would set Jesse Marsch back significantly.

In worrying times, the prospect of an injury to Illan Meslier remains among the biggest concerns for a fanbase moving ever closer to the edge of their seats and nerves.

Losing Roberts is a blow, even if he has struggled to prove himself good enough for the top flight this season, because he’s yet another first-team regular missing from the dressing room and a popular one to boot.

In a squad this small, anyone of relative experience will be missed. The bright side, if there is one, is that this latest injury has struck in an area where Marsch has good options that are about to get even better.

Bamford was fit enough for 10 minutes at the weekend, so logic dictates that he may have a quarter of an hour or even a little more in the tank as a substitute against Aston Villa.

While the once-capped England international is steadily drip-fed the minutes he needs to get up to full speed, Rodrigo is expected to hold the fort in the striker role, but Gelhardt must be pushing the more experienced man hard.

It was the teenager to whom Marsch turned in the second half at Leicester and, given Rodrigo’s patchy record of availability - he lasted 90 Premier League minutes just four times last season and 10 this season - Gelhardt can almost certainly expect involvement in the next couple of games. One man’s loss is another’s gain and Roberts, whose place in the pecking order has been under threat for much of the season as Gelhardt strives to establish himself as a first teamer, has left a gap that must be filled. Greenwood was on the bench at Leicester and can now consider himself Marsch’s fourth natural striker. It is unlikely that he’ll see first-team action but he’s a step closer to it, and this season has proved, relentlessly and to Leeds’ detriment, that anything can happen to anyone.

Beyond Greenwood is Max Dean, the fiery 17-year-old with energy to burn. Dean is not yet ready to move up to first-team level but the first team’s requirements have made him the first-choice forward for the Under-23s and he’s already on course to double last season’s Premier League 2 minutes, this season.

With the addition of Daniel James, whose presence up top has not always convinced, Marsch does have attacking firepower at his disposal and they have an opportunity to be the hero who fires Leeds to top-flight safety.