James Justin's Leeds United mission to pile misery on Chelsea and make up for his lowest moment — Leeds Live 26/4/26
The defender has an FA Cup winner's medal, but it comes with regret attached
Jeremy Cross
James Justin is on a mission to pile on the pain for Chelsea
- and make up for one of the lowest moments of his career. Justin was left
devastated in 2021 when an ACL injury forced him to miss Leicester City's shock
FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea.
The full back received a winners' medal, having played in
some of the previous rounds before getting injured, but admits he doesn't even
know where it is.
And now he wants to get his hands on another one on behalf
of Leeds United, who meet managerless Chelsea in a crunch semi final showdown
today (SUN).
Justin said: "It was a bittersweet moment, to be
honest. Obviously I had played in a couple of rounds before and did well, but
to be injured while my team-mates were out there, it was a bitter pill to
swallow.
"At the end of the day it’s a team sport, and I’ve
still got a medal to show for it. I don't know where the medal is. It's
somewhere at home. It was a bad time in my career in terms of the injury, so I
was just happy they got it over the line.
"But it was one of the lower points. Everyone plays
their part, though, whether you play in the third round or in the final.
Everyone has a helping hand, so I’d played a part, but obviously not as much as
I wanted to. Hopefully I can change that this time. Chelsea in the semi-final,
it might be the same outcome, hopefully."
Justin insists Leeds can beat Chelsea, and that Daniel
Farke's men will look to exploit weaknesses in opponents who head into the game
having sacked Liam Rosenior, after losing seven of their last eight games in
all competitions.
He said: "With the squad that we've got, obviously,
we've had good results against some big sides this season. So nothing's out of
the question. And we're going there with confidence after the last couple of
wins.
"They're obviously a top side with top talent. And
since the manager came in, they've obviously changed their style a little bit.
But they've still got the same tendencies. And hopefully, we can figure out a
game plan to push on their weaknesses."
Justin, who won his one England cap back in 2022, has never
played at Wembley. And he is relishing the chance to finally grace one of
football's greatest stages.
Justin, who joined Leeds from the Foxes last summer for
£10m, added: "Hopefully I can get the chance to be out there in an FA Cup
final, which would be a dream for me.
"It’s an exciting prospect. Everyone hears about how
big the pitch is, how grand it feels, so yeah, I’m excited to get the chance to
play. I played for Luton growing up and and grateful for everything they taught
me over the years.
"I was lucky enough to travel when I was a kid and
played in high-pressure moments -and hopefully I handle them well now.
Definitely it could be a career high, this season. I feel like this has been a
fresh start for me and my family.
"I’ve played a lot over the second half of this season
and I’m really enjoying it, enjoying living in the city. Hopefully we can
achieve our main goal, which is staying in the Premier League - and then see
what happens in the cup."
