Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a doubt for Leeds United's home game with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday after suffering a setback with his foot, Daniel Farke has confirmed, although the Leeds manager is carefully optimistic his top scorer will train on Friday and be available at Elland Road.
Farke delivered the update at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, as reported by LiveScore. "Dominic Calvert-Lewin had a little setback with his foot as well, was not able to train with us today," he said. "But I would say I am carefully optimistic that he is back in training hopefully tomorrow and then he would also be available."
Farke sweats on his top scorer
The timing could hardly be worse for Leeds. They are winless in five league games, sit 12th in the Premier League and were beaten 2-0 at Bournemouth last weekend, with goals a growing problem. Calvert-Lewin is their top scorer this season and scored in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United last month, so losing him against an in-form Tottenham side would leave Farke turning to Lukas Nmecha to lead the line.
The setback is also a familiar frustration in the striker's story. His talent has never been in doubt, but his seasons keep being interrupted by exactly this kind of niggle — and it comes just a week after he signed a new contract at Leeds, ending Manchester United's hopes of taking him to Old Trafford in January.
Okafor and Stach major doubts, Rodon returns
Calvert-Lewin is not Farke's only worry. Noah Okafor, who missed the Bournemouth game with an adductor problem, has not managed a single team training session this week, while Anton Stach has been limited to individual rehabilitation work because of a foot problem. "Just individual rehab work was possible, so major doubts then both if they are available," Farke said.
There was, at least, one major boost. Joe Rodon is back in full team training after his long hamstring layoff and, according to Sports Mole's round-up of the Leeds injury list, is available for selection on Saturday. Gabriel Gudmundsson and James Justin also trained after picking up knocks and are fine, Farke confirmed.
So what does it mean for Leeds?
Saturday now hinges on Friday's training session. With Rodon back, Leeds can field something close to their strongest defence against Tottenham — but if Calvert-Lewin, Okafor and Stach are all missing, Farke's attacking options shrink to the point where a five-game winless run becomes very hard to end against visitors chasing the top of the table. The international break follows this weekend, which gives Leeds a reason to protect their striker rather than gamble on him: one more setback now could cost them far more than one match in December.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Leeds built their survival plan around keeping Calvert-Lewin fit, and weeks like this show how thin that plan is. Rodon's return steadies the back door, but a side that cannot score cannot climb — if their top scorer is sitting in the stand on Saturday, the winless run Farke is trying to end will feel a lot longer than five games.
Will Calvert-Lewin make it back in time to face Tottenham? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
