28-year-old shares what he said to Kalvin Phillips after he got sent off in Leeds’ last match

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Leeds United will have to deal without Kalvin Phillips for three matches now, after his red card.

Leeds United defender Luke Ayling has told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he let Kalvin Phillips know that he was less than impressed with the midfielder’s tackle against Queens Park Rangers.

Phillips was sent off during Leeds’ last match, as his frustrations got the better of him.

The Whites were beaten 1-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, as their poor run of form continued.

And they will now be without Phillips for three matches, after he was sent off for a needlessly reckless challenge.

“It’s going to be a huge miss for us,” Ayling said.

“I said afterwards to him, that’s a stupid a tackle and then it’s a red card so he will have to sit out three games now and other players are going to have to step up.

“Maybe some players that have been injured might be able to come back and have some game time and we are going to have to find a different player to play in there.”

Phillips is arguably the most important player in Marcelo Bielsa’s side, so Leeds will have to be at their best without him.

With the Whites only winning one of their last eight matches, there are real concerns that they could slip out of the automatic promotion spaces now.

Ben White could step into midfield in Phillips’s absence, or Bielsa has the option of bringing Jamie Shackleton into the starting line-up, but neither possess the same quality as the man they would be replacing.

Leeds are next in action in a week’s time, when they take on Millwall.