As well as Llorente: Graham Smyth drops worrying Leeds injury update for Marsch before Leicester

Leeds United correspondent Graham Smyth has dropped a worrying injury update on Twitter ahead of Jesse Marsch’s first match in charge of the club against Leicester City.

Marsch faced the media for the first time as Leeds boss on Thursday after taking over from Marcelo Bielsa earlier in the week.

The American, who penned a deal through to 2025, admitted that there has been a ‘cycle’ of Whites players ‘fighting and playing through injuries’ this season, with the club flirting with relegation in the final months of the season.

The new manager inherits a small Leeds squad from Bielsa, and it seems as if he’ll have to make late calls on a few players.

Smyth took to Twitter on Thursday, relaying comments from Marsch’s press conference regarding injuries ahead of the trip to the King Power.

He posted that while Patrick Bamford is ‘close’ to a return and Diego Llorente is ‘questionable’, there are actually more issues which have not been reported.

Indeed, a ‘few others’ are struggling and the club are taking things ‘step by step’ with those unnamed players.

Marsch appeared to be talking about members of the squad who have been featuring with injuries and not about the likes of Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips, who he addressed separately by revealing they are making good progress from their long-term hamstring problems.

Phil Hay confirmed last month that Stuart Dallas is one who has been playing through injuries after he limped off against Everton last month but made a swift return against Manchester United a week later.

Hopefully, Phillips and Cooper are the only absentees for the Whites this lunchtime, but it seems as if Marsch will need to make calls on others as well as Llorente.

In other news: ‘Heard…’ – talkSPORT drop