Leeds defender set for spell on the sidelines.
Leeds United defender Liam Cooper is unlikely to play for the club again until 2019, the Yorkshire Evening Post report.
Cooper suffered a knee injury in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Sheffield United.
The full extent of the injury is still being studied, but at this early stage Leeds are said to be confident it is not a lengthy ACL injury.
It sounds as though Cooper may have a MCL injury, which would rule him out for a matter of weeks rather than months.
Aapo Halme came off the bench at the weekend to help Leeds to a clean sheet and the Finnish defender is in line to play a prominent role over the next month.
Cooper will miss this weekend’s game at home to QPR, and beyond that, Bolton (a), Aston Villa (a), Blackburn (h) and Hull (h). A New Year’s Day game away to Nottingham Forest may also be a big ask.
The games against Villa, Blackburn and Forest will be especially testing without Cooper, and Leeds need star defender Pontus Jansson to stay fit, while Kalvin Phillips could also drop back into defence.
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