Marcelo Bielsa has provided a mixed update on the fitness of key Leeds United duo Kiko Casilla and Kalvin Phillips ahead of their trip to Middlesbrough on Wednesday night.

The Whites are looking for three wins on the bounce as they prepare for a crunch match at the Riverside against rivals Middlesbrough in a clash that could have very big repercussions at both ends of the table for the run-in.

Last time out, Leeds managed to extend their lead in the automatic promotion places to five points after a narrow win over Reading at Elland Road.

The game’s only goal came via a moment of magic from Pablo Hernandez after a nervy first half, which saw little goalmouth action but did see Kalvin Phillips take a hefty knock to the calf, which ended up forcing him off before the interval.

With Pablo Hernandez scoring and handing Leeds the lead, there wasn’t much in the way of chances for the Royals, however, they nearly snatched a late equaliser when centre-back Liam Moore broke into the box and forced a smart save from Kiko Casilla to see Leeds and the Spaniard record their 14th clean sheet of the season.

However, Casilla took a knock during the game and left the ground after full-time with two of his fingers strapped up, leading to many assuming he had broken at least one and had played on through the injury.

Speaking in his press conference before the Boro trip, Bielsa had this update on the fitness of the stopper and holding midfielder, as quoted by Leeds Live.

On Casilla: “He has a problem but maybe he plays.

“That depends on the level of the pain, but if he can support the level of the pain I think he is going to play.

“In this situation, I don’t have the answer for this (how it happened). I didn’t ask for this and I didn’t realise to ask. Sorry for that.

When asked if he had broken his fingers, he added: “No. Inflammation from the kick.”

The Argentine was then asked about Phillips, to which he swiftly replied: “It’s a kick. Depending if the pain disappears as well. The same situation as Kiko.

“But with both players I am optimistic.”

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The verdict

When it comes to injury news, Bielsa is typically very black and white with the information he gives and this would indicate the pair have a good chance of featuring.

It was a big knock that Phillips took and it was clear that he was struggling to carry on with such a strong impact to his calf.

Casilla has proven his value to the side after a very wobbly patch and has shown just why Bielsa was so keen to see him stay in the side.

It would be expected that both are handed starts again at the Riverside as Bielsa seems very optimistic, even if they are major doubts.