Ben Parker could miss the whole of the Leeds United's pre-season programme due to a leg injury.
Left-back's leg injury is more serious than suspected
Leeds United defender Ben Parker could miss the whole of the club's pre-season programme due to a leg injury.
Parker missed virtually the whole of Leeds' promotion campaign after making just two League One starts.
His last game came against Milton Keynes Dons on 24th April, but he hobbled out of the contest after damaging the lower region of his leg.
The injury was not thought to be anything long-term, but manager Simon Grayson now believes he is facing three months out.
"He's got quite a bad tear in that area and he's looking at a few months out," Grayson told the
Yorkshire Evening Post.
"It's a massive blow and not the first he's had recently. It's been one injury after another for Ben and I feel really sorry for him. He put a huge amount of work into trying to get himself right.
"I don't like to put timescales on injuries because some can heal quickly and others can take longer but realistically he's going to miss quite a lot of pre-season."
Ban lengthened
Meanwhile, Max Gradel will miss the first four games of Leeds' Championship return after being handed an additional one-game ban.
The former Leicester flyer received an automatic three-match suspension following his red card against Bristol Rovers on the final day of the season.
But he has been handed an extra match for being in breach of rule E3 and was punished for improper conduct for failing to leave the pitch after being dismissed.
