Sam Greenwood has confirmed that he has become the latest Leeds United forward to sustain an injury, with the youngster suggesting on Instagram that he is gutted to now be sidelined.
Leeds have been dealing with a raft of injuries over the last couple of months. And the list got longer ahead of their FA Cup third round tie with West Ham, with Marcelo Bielsa confirming that Joe Gelhardt and Tyler Roberts were set to be out for a month.
Patrick Bamford missed the tie at the London Stadium. And with that, Greenwood was handed a first start for the first-team.
The 19-year-old is no stranger to playing up front. But he has tended to feature more prominently as a number 10 or central midfielder for Mark Jackson’s side in recent months.
However, with Bamford, Roberts, Gelhardt and Rodrigo all out for Leeds, Greenwood would have known that Sunday presented him with a huge opportunity.
His afternoon lasted 45 minutes. He was taken off at half-time with Leeds 1-0 down. At the time, the change seemed to make sense, with Raphinha coming on and Daniel James pushing up front.
Unfortunately, it appears that Bielsa’s hand was somewhat forced. Greenwood has taken to Instagram to comment on making his first start, before confirming that he picked up a knock…
Sam Greenwood injury only strengthens calls for Leeds to sign new striker
Bielsa is unlikely to make transfer decisions based on Greenwood getting injured. He has always been reluctant to make big changes in January. And Greenwood is yet to establish himself solely as a first-team player.
But his injury does leave Leeds in even more bother. Should James now pick up a knock, Bielsa will have to try someone completely new in that position.
Hopefully, Greenwood’s injury is not serious. Leeds really need as many players as possible right now.