Leeds United did not play at the weekend but were knocked down to third place and now promotion has been thrown into jeopardy as the club have confirmed that Kemar Roofe sustained knee ligament damage in the win over Swansea.
The extended break between games, thanks to the EFL rescheduling our trip to Loftus Road, had given Roofe some bonus time to rest his knee following the game, but scans held on Monday showed the full extent of the blow.
Marcelo Bielsa’s number one striker will now have to sit down with the medical team at Thorp Arch to discuss where to go from here, but the 26-year-old could be out of action for a number of important games.
At a minimum, Bielsa will expect to be without his 14-goal ace for seven games, stretching to Millwall’s trip to Yorkshire on March 30, with Roofe watching on as his teammates square up to fellow promotion hopefuls West Bromwich Albion, Bristol City, and Sheffield United.
The fact he was spotted over the weekend walking with a leg brace could suggest his injury is as severe as knee ligament injuries get, and could see his season brought to an end in February, which would leave Bielsa with Tyler Roberts and Patrick Bamford as his only recognised strikers, who have five goals between them this season.
On a brighter note, Gaetano Berardi and Stuart Dallas both featured for the U23s on Monday, while the Bolton win also marked Izzy Brown’s first match at Elland Road as he nears a senior Leeds debut.
The thought of losing Roofe, however, earned a lot of the attention from the fans…
Gonna bottle it again
— jordan (@jorrd9n) February 18, 2019
@georgerayner4 … “Why do we need another Striker in January, we have Roofe and Bamford?”.
This is why George. This.— Ben Wykman (@BWykman) February 18, 2019
Absolutely gutted he’s been awesome not just with his goals but with his link up play ur gonna b missed big style fella get well soon mot alaw
— Christopher Mock (@ChristopherMock) February 18, 2019
Big loss has been class this season
— Ron (@ronaallleeds) February 18, 2019
Unlucky Kemar – such a talent I hope he has a speedy recovery
— Luke Stokes (@lukestokes84) February 18, 2019
Great. Goals are like hen’s teeth at the moment as it is.
— Arthur Sixpence (@Parkerbats) February 18, 2019
Fail to prepare… Prepare to Fail
— Benno (@Benno62413391) February 18, 2019
Oh dear. That’s him done for the season by the sound of it. knee ligaments is a long job.
— Jan Dekker (@Fendweller) February 18, 2019
But we didn’t need any backup in January ????????????????
— Grovesy LUFC???????? (@Grovesy1975) February 18, 2019