Leeds United news: ‘Illness’ revealed as surgery confirmed and classy childhood comment

Leeds United were unable to return to Premier League action with a third successive win under their belt after they fell to defeat against AS Monaco. The clash was their final friendly in preparation for next week’s tie with Manchester City.

The Whites took an early lead against the French side through Robin Koch before Breel Embolo equalised with their first real attack of the match after a dominating first half performance from the hosts. Jesse Marsch’s side were unable to pick up where they left off in the second, while Monaco came out all guns blazing and soon found themselves 4-1 up thanks to goals from Gelson Martins, Ismail Jakobs and a second from Embolo.

Joe Gelhardt’s 90th minute penalty proved to only be a consolation goal for the Whites, however Marsch will be content seeing a number of his first team players get some important minutes in their legs before their final two matches of 2022. Ahead of their highly anticipated return to competitive action, we take a look at the recent headlines from Elland Road.

Whites forward names his childhood inspiration

Leeds United’s teenage striker Mateo Joseph has revealed that teammate Rodrigo Moreno was an inspiration of his growing up. The Spaniard joined the club from Espanyol’s academy in January, making his Premier League debut against Tottenham Hotspur in November - though missed out on lining up alongside Rodrigo who was benched late in the game.

Joseph said: “When I was young, not only when I came here, I watched Rodrigo. So I was looking at him when he was at Valencia and with Spain also. He has great qualities and he has always scored goals, so I have always watched a lot of him.”

The 31-year-old joined Leeds from Valencia for a club-record fee of £27 million in 2020 and has since scored 22 goals in the Premier League - impressing this season in particular, with nine in 13 matches. Rodrigo’s form in his prime was even better, scoring 45 goals for Benfica as he won the Primeira Liga, taco de Portugal, Taca da Liga (2) and Europa League, before returning to Spain with Valencia where he netted 59 times.

Click here to read what Rodrigo had to say about Mateo Joseph.

Illan Meslier verdict ahead of Man City clash

Leeds United assistant Rene Maric has offered his verdict on whether Illan Meslier will be available to face Man City next week. The goalkeeper has missed all three of the Whites’ friendlies against Elche, Real Sociedad and AS Monaco as he looks to recover from illness. Joel Robles and Kristoffer Klaesson have been covering for Meslier, however he could return in time for their Premier League meeting with the defending champions.

Speaking after their defeat to Monaco, Maric said: “We have some illness going around so we’ll have to check when and who is coming back into training. Illness is day-by-day, you know. It’s similar to the other guys that I said, it’s day-to-day basis. I think, I believe he’ll be fit, yes.”

Read what else Maric had to say here.

Whites youngster undergoes knee surgery

Leeds United teenager Keenan Carole has undergone successful knee surgery after suffering an injury at the start of the month. The 18-year-old signed his first professional contract in the summer after impressing for the U18s and has since featured for the U21 side.

Carole’s season had been progressing positively as he made eight appearances for the U21s before picking up the injury against Orihuela CF. It’s unclear how long the midfielder will be out for but he will be frustrated to be sidelined after such an important period in his development. Carole could have been set for an opportunity in the first team under Marsch, who has already given chances to the likes of Sonny Perkins, Darko Gyabi and Mateo Joseph in recent months. With Carole’s versatility allowing him to play down the left-side, he could have been useful given Junior Firpo’s poor form this season.