Ryan Edmondson must feature in Leeds’ final pre-season game

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Leeds United have confirmed that they will be without Kemar Roofe for the next four weeks.

The new Championship season is yet to kick off and Leeds fans are already cursing their luck with injuries, with the likes of Luke Ayling and Tyler Roberts going unseen throughout pre-season and Kemar Roofe now joining the pair on the sidelines.

Leeds have confirmed on their official website that Roofe will miss the next four weeks after sustaining an injury during United’s final game of their pre-season tour in Australia.

The news surely confirms that Patrick Bamford will lead the line in the opening weeks of the new campaign. Bamford has had a tough pre-season, but has the quality to step up while Roofe is working his way back towards full fitness.

Nevertheless, it now appears essential that Ryan Edmondson is taken to Sardinia for Marcelo Bielsa’s side’s final pre-season game, which comes against Cagliari this weekend. There is a Leeds XI taking on Girona on the same day, but the clash in Italy will surely provide the greater indication of what the Whites will look like against Bristol City next Sunday.

Edmondson was one of those who did not travel to Australia, so it would have been no surprise if he was one of those set to stay behind this time around. He has provided another glimpse of his quality this summer with a hat-trick in the emphatic win against Tadcaster Albion.

The 18-year-old could have an important role to play while Roofe is sidelined. He provides some physicality which could cause Championship defences problems, and his ability with the ball at his feet is arguably underrated due to his stature.

Leeds need to find out how he gets on playing in front of the likes of Pablo Hernandez, Helder Costa and Jack Harrison, so giving him some minutes against the Serie A side this weekend makes a lot of sense.

He is not the finished article just yet. But with Roofe injured, Leeds may need to put some serious faith in the teenager in the coming weeks – if nothing else, to hand Bamford a rest at times – so promoting him to the team that travels to Sardinia could be an extremely smart move.