Leeds United face Burton Albion at the weekend in a crucial game for their Championship play-off hopes.
Leeds United manager Garry Monk
Leeds boss Garry Monk has told BBC Radio Leeds that the illness that ruled Ronaldo Vieira out of their clash with Newcastle last Friday was also the reason that he missed the defeat to Wolves, but added that he is hopeful of having him back available for this weekend.
The Whites’ play-off hopes suffered a major blow on Monday as Paul Lambert’s men’s victory at Elland Road saw Leeds fall out of the play-off places for the first time since November.
What is particularly concerning for supporters is that the defeat was Leeds’ second incredibly lacklustre display in a row, leaving the fans to call for Vieira – who has missed the last two games – to come back in for the trip to the Pirelli Stadium.
And after explaining why the midfielder missed the Wolves clash, Monk issued a fairly positive assessment of his chances of being back in contention for the next game, before commenting on whether there were any new problems within the team.
“He was ill before the Newcastle game and then he got a bit worse over the next couple of days so he wasn’t ready for today,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
Leeds United’s Ronaldo Vieira
“We’re hoping he’ll be back available for the weekend, up for selection. The rest of the injuries are what they are, there’s no issues from today, so that’s good.”
While all of the holding midfielders have enjoyed bright spells throughout the campaign, it has arguably been Vieira who has been the most reliable performer, often driving the team forward after breaking up the opposition’s attacks.
And with Leeds’ defence leaving Rob Green with a tremendous amount of work to do in the last two games, Monk may be hoping that the 18-year-old’s return – if it does come at the weekend – will be the difference maker for the Whites as they desperately need a spark to ignite in the coming games.
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