When it rains, it pours. That is how one would describe the current injury crisis at Leeds United. The last player they would have wanted to get injured after Jamal Blackman’s foot injury was Bailey Peacock Farrell and that is exactly what has happened as Bielsa recently confirmed (as reported by Leeds Live) in his press conference that the 21-year-old goalkeeper suffered a knee injury.
Bielsa also went on to confirm that Blackman would have started in goal after the international break. But after his return to the Stamford Bridge, Peacock Farrell would have felt lucky that he can continue as the no.1 in goal. However, that is not going to be the case now as Bielsa said,”It will also be difficult for Peacock-Farrell to play because yesterday at the end of the training session he had a problem with his knee and probably won’t be able to play.”
In his absence, Will Huffer and Kamil Miazek are next in line to play for the Whites. The former Chile manager indicated in the press conference that he is likely to go with Polish custodian Miazek in goal for the weekend’s game. The 22-year-old who is in the final year of his contract and has been at the club since October of 2017 will have a chance to impress.
Miazek started his career in Poland before moving to Dutch heavyweights Feyenoord where he was part of their youth setup. When the Whites signed him, he was without a club then and it remains to be seen how the 22-year-old would go about in his debut game.
Peacock Farrell broke into the squad last season when Felix Weidwald was dropped after some horrendous displays in goal. A lot more was expected out of the German given that he was coming with a decent amount of experience and reputation from the Bundesliga. He was sold back to Frankfurt in the summer. Paul Heckingbottom promoted Peacock Farrell who did put in some impressive performances but never really firmly established himself in the first team. This season, under Bielsa he continued as the no.1 even though the West Yorkshire outfit signed highly talented Jamal Blackman on loan from Chelsea.
A goalkeeper is one of the most critical positions on a football pitch as a mistake from a custodian is usually more costly as it can directly lead to a goal. Against West Brom, the Northern Irish stopper was all over the place, but Bielsa did go on to claim that it wasn’t just because of one performance that he was looking to replace him with Blackman. Though both of them are out now and tough times are ahead of United in the next few games.
