Eddie Gray curses 'tremendous blow' regarding 'vital' Leeds colossus live on air

Leeds United legend Eddie Gray has responded to the injuries suffered by Stuart Dallas and Liam Cooper live on talkSPORT. 

Unfortunately, the Whites’ squad has been ravaged with injury issues throughout the entire 2021/22 campaign, with key players such as Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford missing large parts of the season.

The England international duo have only managed 25 Premier League appearances combined this term, having played a huge part in Marcelo Bielsa’s side when earning promotion in 2020 and comfortably retaining their top-flight status last term.

Despite the recent return of Phillips, talismanic marksman Bamford remains sidelined and has now been joined by two more key players in the treatment room…

Speaking to the talkSPORT Breakfast Show (May 2), Leeds legend and Scottish Hall of Fame member Gray bemoaned the persistent fitness issues faced at the Yorkshire club.

He lamented: “It’s a tremendous blow for us. Stuart can play anywhere. If we get an injury Stuart can come in, he can play right-back, left-back, central midfield – he can play anywhere.

“He’s a vital player for Leeds United, it was such a blow when he got his injury on the weekend.

“And also, losing the skipper in the warm-up before the game Liam Cooper, was another blow for us. You just hope that he can recover quickly.”

Even given the calibre of players already absent for Jesse Marsch’s side, the lengthy absence of Dallas could arguably be the hardest felt by the Whites.

Such is the importance of the energetic Northern Ireland international, the 31-year-old utility man had played in each of Leeds’ 34 Premier League matches to date in the current campaign up to last weekend.

Remarkably, he has only missed one league game since the beginning