Had he been fit, could Aapo Halme have been in contention for a Leeds United debut this season?
To say that Leeds United are enduring an injury crisis in regards to centre-back options might be an understatement.
The centre-half pairing that finished Leeds’ 3-1 defeat by Preston on Tuesday – Paudie O’Connor and Hugo Diaz – have a total of 213 minutes of Championship football under their belts.
O’Connor hadn’t made a senior appearance for United this time last week, while Diaz replaced the injured Pontus Jansson last night for what was his first-team debut.
Jansson joins Liam Cooper, Matthew Pennington and Conor Shaughnessy on the sidelines and you wonder if Aapo Halme is truly cursing his luck that he is also injured.
The Finnish defender, who joined from HJK Helsinki in January, is also missing with a foot injury.
The 19-year-old, who stands at 6’4, wasn’t signed to play this season, but it is entirely plausible that the highly-rated defender could have now been in contention for a debut had he been available, and surely his injury is even more devastating for him based on what could have been.
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