Leeds United face Southampton this weekend and while the Saints are yet to win a game in the Premier League, this won’t be an easy game for the Whites.
While Leeds certainly have what it takes to beat Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side this weekend, their ongoing injury crisis certainly isn’t helping matters.
Indeed, Luke Ayling and Patrick Bamford have already been ruled out of this one, while Kalvin Phillips is also a doubt.
However, there’s another player who could be an even bigger miss and that’s Raphinha.
The winger played for Brazil on Friday morning, and while able to make it back to England on time to play in this one, it’s hard to see Bielsa risking him.
Marcelo Bielsa stated in his pre-match press conference that he’d have to make a late assessment on Raphinha based on how many minutes he played for Brazil and the intensity he played at:
““There is no doubt that there is a short turnaround and the options that he has to participate in the game on Saturday depends on whether he plays this final game tonight, how many minutes he plays, how he finishes the game after he has participated in it, how efficient the rest he can have in the next 36 hours is considering that a third of those hours he is going to spend it flying, and if there is any risk that that fatigue could cause injuries than we won’t risk it.” Bielsa said.
If Raphinha hadn’t played a minute or had even made a cameo appearance he probably would have been able to feature against the Saints, but after playing 70 minutes and scoring twice, it’s hard to see how he’ll be 100 per cent for a 3PM Saturday kick-off, especially after such a long flight.
Bielsa very rarely risks a player if he doesn’t think they’re 100%, which is understandable. After all, the Argentine’s style of play is one of the most intense in the Premier League, so if you’re not fully fit, you’re going to struggle.
Leeds’ manager is an absolute stickler on this front. He’ll often take months to bed in new signings for this exact reason, while senior players returning from injury often have to play a few U23 games just to get up to speed.
As incredible as Raphinha’s fitness and stamina is, it’s hard to see how anyone would be ready to start a Premier League game after such a gruelling 36 hour period.
We wouldn’t be surprised if the Brazilian was on the bench – you don’t leave a player who was described as ‘proper talent’ just last week out of your squad completely, but it’s really hard to see how he makes the starting XI for this match.
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