Garry Monk sheds light on Pontus Jansson’s absence for Leeds defeat; comments on defender’s chances of featuring in midweek

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Pontus Jansson was missing from the Leeds United squad for their defeat to Cardiff City, and could now be a doubt for the Whites’ next game

Leeds United boss Garry Monk has told BBC Radio Leeds that Pontus Jansson pulled out of the Whites’ squad on the morning of the Cardiff City game due to illness, and now must be considered a doubt for Tuesday’s clash with Bristol City.

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Jansson has been a colossus at the heart of the Whites’ defence since his arrival in the summer, and with Monk having few options to pick from at the heart of the defence, it would have undoubtedly taken a number of supporters by surprise to see him not involved at all against the Bluebirds.

And following the 2-0 defeat to Neil Warnock’s men, Monk provided an explanation as to why the Sweden international was missing while also giving an early indication as to whether he expects the 25-year-old to return in midweek.

Pontus Jansson

“He rang in ill this morning, said he was ill, so that’s unfortunate for him, obviously we had to make the change and that’s the reason why he wasn’t involved today,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.

“It’s probably doubtful if you’re ill today and not well enough to play the game, then it’s doubtful you’ll be ready in the next two days to be ready for the next game but we’ll have to see,” he added when asked whether Jansson is likely to be back for the next game.

As the scoreline suggests, Leeds certainly missed having Jansson in the team on what proved to be an extremely disappointing afternoon for the side.

Sean Morrison broke the deadlock early in the second-half

Cardiff’s first goal came from a free-kick as Sean Morrison lost his marker and practically got a free header away, while the second saw Aron Gunnarsson surge forward virtually unchallenged before laying the ball off to Kenneth Zohore to double the lead.

While it is not guaranteed that the goals would have been prevented had Jansson been playing, Leeds fans will surely argue that they would have probably stood a better chance of successfully defending the free-kick that led to the first, and Gunnarsson would not have got through so easily had the centre-back been playing.

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And not having Jansson available to face a Bristol City side that put three past fellow play-off contenders Derby County on Saturday could be a major blow to Leeds’ chances of getting their promotion push back on track.