Diego Llorente must now step up to the plate for Leeds United

It was a prescient statement by Leeds United coach Marcelo Bielsa – unfortunately.
Diego Llorente: Stepped in against 
Chelsea.  Picture: Bruce RollinsonDiego Llorente: Stepped in against 
Chelsea.  Picture: Bruce Rollinson
Diego Llorente: Stepped in against Chelsea. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

“(Diego) Llorente is healthy, he is in condition to play and the ideal would be for him to play with the Under-23s because it has been a while since he has played,” he said when asked his regular question about the fitness of a central defender yet to feature in the first-team squad on Thursday.

“If the team requires him you may have to call on a player who is healthy but doesn’t have the ideal sporting level (of fitness).”

Two days later, that is exactly what happened.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bielsa would have known Leeds were managing a knee injury Robin Koch picked up on his debut at Anfield, and that 2020-21 has been a season of injuries.

But Koch kicked off at Stamford Bridge having not missed a minute of Leeds’ 10 Premier League matches this season. Since then, he played four times for Germany, including all of their November internationals.

Now he has had knee surgery, and Llorente must step up.

It is a big task for the 27-year-old, who until coming in the ninth minute when Koch injured his knee again in Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea had not played competitively since September.

Bielsa is known for not cutting corners with fitness but did say when pitching Koch in at Anfield with minimal preparation with his new team-mates, right-sided centre-back is a pretty straight-forward position to adapt to.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When it was clear Koch’s night was over on Saturday, Bielsa ignored Pascal Struijk, who partnered the German at Anfield and at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. It might just be because Struijk is naturally a left-sider.

But Llorente has already been held back by muscle injuries in a season like no other to test them. That we are reaching its coldest part will not help but the main issue is the sheer bulk of fixtures.

Leeds have been sheltered by an instant League Cup exit and not playing in Europe. December is different, with six games. There are due to be five in January, plus a probable FA Cup fourth-round tie, and five in February.

For how long we do not know as Koch only went under the knife yesterday – he hopes to be back by the spring – but a squad which suffered for the absence of holding midfielder Kalvin Phillips in November will be tested again.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.