Liam Cooper is facing a spell on the sidelines although the Leeds United captain’s injury could’ve been a lot worse than it is.

Leeds lost Cooper within 20 minutes of Saturday’s Yorkshire derby with Sheffield United, with Marcelo Bielsa moving to describe the injury as “serious” following the game.

Whilst Leeds are yet to provide confirmation of Cooper’s setback, Phil Hay from the Yorkshire Evening Post has issued a series of updates on Twitter.

The YEP journalist confirms that the 27-year-old is still seeing specialists and although it isn’t the most serious injury in the world, Leeds will be without the defender for a period.

With Cooper joining the likes of Luke Ayling and Gaetano Berardi on the sidelines, Leeds are reliant on Pontus Jansson, who is now their only recognised senior centre-back.

Aapo Halme has made two appearances in the last three fixtures, with the 20-year-old stepping off the bench to replace Cooper at Bramall Lane on Saturday.

The Finnish youngster produced an assured performance alongside Kalvin Phillips and Jansson in a back-three as Leeds beat their promotion rivals 1-0, picking up their first three points at Bramall Lane since 1992.

The Verdict

The loss of his captain is going to frustrate Bielsa, and with Leeds’ other injuries still hindering them, the timing isn’t great.

However, you’ve got to pull on the positives here. Cooper’s injury could’ve been a lot worse, and although you’d expect him to probably sit out the festive period, Bielsa will hope he can return in early 2019.

Thoughts? Let us know!

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