The Leeds United defender is out injured with a knee issue.
Noel Whelan has told BBC Radio Leeds that the international break could have a silver lining for Leeds United centre-back Pontus Jansson.
The big Leeds defender pulled out of international duty with Sweden this week after being ruled out for the rest of the month with a knee injury sustained in Saturday’s defeat by Sheffield United.
It’s a big blow for the Whites, who will miss him for games against Millwall and Birmingham City – according to The Yorkshire Evening Post – when club football resumes later this month.
The absence of Jansson, who looked in agony against the Blades, isn’t ideal for a team pushing for automatic promotion to the Premier League, but Whelan says that the two-week hiatus comes at a good time for the Swede.
He told BBC Radio Leeds: “Pontus Jansson did not look good, that gives him time to recover from what he’s done to his knee.
“It looked a sore one so he might need that two-week break to rest himself up. So I think it’s come at a decent time.”
Jansson, a £3.5 million signing in 2017 [Yorkshire Evening Post], has been exceptional for United this season and Marcelo Bielsa will need him back sooner rather than later.
But Whelan is correct. The two-week break does come at a good time for Leeds and the 27-year-old himself.
If the report from The YEP is accurate then Bielsa, whose side dropped to third this past weekend, will only miss him for two games instead of potentially four.
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