Leeds United manager Javi Gracia has confirmed that Wilfried Gnonto is now “ready and available” to return to action.
The Whites boss gave an update on the 19-year-old forward at his press conference ahead of the trip to Fulham.
Leeds are desperate to bounce back, having lost their last two Premier League games and three of their last four.
In addition, the Whites have conceded 11 goals in their last two league matches, as well as four against Arsenal at the start of April.
Gnonto hasn’t started a game for Leeds since the 4-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in mid-March.
The £20,000-a-week ace suffered a twisted ankle in Italy 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifying win over Malta on 26 March.
This led to Gnonto miss out against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, though he was on the bench for the latter.
The Leeds prodigy then came off the bench in the losses to Crystal Palace and Liverpool.
Gracia, speaking to Leeds Live, admitted he had been protecting the teenage talent, but suggested he’s now fully fit.
“Gnonto is ready,” said the Spaniard. “He had a little issue, he had some problem, now he’s ready.
“He’s training from the last few weeks and in the beginning when he came back, it’s true that I tried to protect him a little bit but now he’s ready and available.”
Our view
Things aren’t great at Leeds right now, but news of Gnonto’s return to fitness is a huge boost for the club.
The Whites are just two points above the drop zone, and their momentum has been halted by those two heavy defeats.
However, Leeds have shown they have what it takes to get wins and points, so there’s cause for optimism.
Now, with Gnonto set to return to the fold, he’ll hopefully provide the quality and goals to get his team over the line.
The 19-year-old is an “absolutely brilliant” game-changer of a player, and he has certainly been missed.
“This lad, Gnonto – he is a livewire. Absolutely brilliant. He’s outstanding,” Micah Richards said earlier this year.
“You just look at created chances, dribbles, he’s got absolutely everything. You know what it is? He’s fearless.
“When he comes on the pitch he’s like ‘I’m going to run at you, I don’t care which defender I’m playing against – I’m going to go both ways’.
“He’s been one of the signings of the season, excellent.”
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