Leeds United will have to cope without Samuel Saiz for the next six games in what will be a blow to their Championship play-off hopes.
Given how impressive Samuel Saiz has been when he has let his football do the talking, it would be no surprise if a number of Leeds fans were slightly fearful for how they may get on in their next six games with the Spaniard now suspended.
The ugly incident that saw the playmaker sent off towards the end of the Whites’ FA Cup tie with Newport County at the weekend means that he will be missing until Thomas Christiansen’s men travel to face Derby County towards the end of February.
That means that he will not be available for the games against promotion rivals Cardiff City, Sheffield United and Bristol City, and that will surely make those games much more daunting.
But perhaps Leeds can take some heart from the fact that Pablo Hernandez was fantastic when Saiz’s recent spell on the sidelines due to injury allowed his countryman to play through the middle.
The 32-year-old may have struggled to make an impact in the defeat to Birmingham in December, but demonstrated his quality by scoring two stunning goals in the victories over Hull City and Burton Albion either side of Christmas.
The goal against Hull was an audacious and delicious chip that perhaps few other players in the division would have tried, while the brilliant free-kick at the Pirelli Stadium set up a comeback after the Whites went a goal down.
Of course, Christiansen would have loved to have Saiz available for the six upcoming games. But if Hernandez can recapture that form, he may not be missed too much, and may actually come back in rejuvenated after such a lengthy break.
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