Phil Hay reveals fresh injury concern for 'amazing' Leeds starlet with 28 apps this season

The Athletic‘s Leeds United correspondent Phil Hay has confirmed a fresh injury concern for Jesse Marsch regarding Pascal Struijk.

The 22-year-old was named on the bench against Southampton over the weekend despite completing 90 minutes in four consecutive Premier League outings prior to the international break.

So far this season, Struijk has made 28 appearances across all competitions, but the Dutch starlet only came on for the dying moments of the 1-1 draw at Elland Road on Saturday and was asked to operate as a makeshift left-back.

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The reasons behind Marsch’s selection have now been made clear…

Writing for The Athletic on Monday morning, Hay has confirmed that the versatile Dutchman has been hampered by a hamstring problem and illness during the international break.

He reported: “Struijk returned a positive COVID-19 test during the international break and experienced a hamstring niggle too. So, the rationale behind the pre-match selection was less simple than a basic pecking order but Marsch was essentially picking between two defenders who were not entirely match fit.”

Fellow defender Robin Koch was also among the substitutes for Leeds on Saturday, but the German remained unused.

Ideally, Marsch would have given the three-cap Netherlands  youth international a full afternoon off. However, as talismanic ace Luke Ayling was forced off in the latter stages on Saturday, Struijk was called upon to fill the void.

Having watched the Dutch youngster come through a brief outing, along with welcoming Kalvin Phillips back into the fray, the Leeds manager will soon hope to have a plethora of options available across all positions, a luxury which has been all too rare