Kemar Roofe ruled out of Leeds' play-off second leg against Derby
Monday 13 May 2019 21:57, UK
Leeds forward Kemar Roofe has been ruled out of Wednesday’s second leg Championship play-off encounter with Derby, boss Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed.
The forward, whose 55th-minute strike gave Leeds a slender 1-0 lead going into the return at Elland Road, live on Sky Sports, is struggling with a calf injury.
The 26-year-old joins Adam Forshaw, Tyler Roberts, Barry Douglas, and winger Gjanni Alioski on the sidelines, while defender Pontus Jansson is also doubtful due to an ankle injury.
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"[Adam] Forshaw won't be available," Bielsa said. "[Pontus] Jansson will [on Tuesday] try to work normally. And we will see how he is.
"Roofe won't be available either. Kemar's problem is more simple than Adam's, but still he won't be available for Wednesday's game and we have to take care of him."
However, with Patrick Bamford available after completing a two match ban, Bielsa believes the striker's return couldn't be more timely.
"Of course we would like to have both Roofe and Bamford playing, but at times we've been without both," Bielsa added.
"Tyler Roberts has played when either have been out, but with the absence of Roofe comes the availability of Bamford."
Leeds' first-leg win was their third of the season over Frank Lampard's side after winning both league fixtures - but Bielsa has warned his side against complacency going into the second-leg.
"Every game was different, and we should be careful about that analysis," added Bielsa.
"It's a small difference [from the first leg] and we would like to have the same performance as we did against Derby in our previous games, but we know it's going to be hard."
