Four matches needs to be the limit on Leeds United fans’ wait for a Wilfried Gnonto start this weekend. The teenager has arguably been the club’s best forward this season and a four-game hiatus from the starting line-up, which has seen three defeats, has only bolstered his importance.
Having returned from international duty with an ankle issue, Gnonto would be missing from the Arsenal trip entirely. A return to the bench against Nottingham Forest was understandable after injury, but two further games on the sidelines were harder to fathom with the team struggling.
In Thursday’s pre-match press conference, Gracia had initially been asked what Gnonto needed to start doing in order to take his place back in the side. The Spaniard’s answer left us feeling the Italian was still managing his ankle problem through a few days training each week.
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“There are many things we are not doing well at the moment because you only have to see the games and results to know it, but, for me, it's important the way they work every day, the way I know they competed in the games from my arrival,” said Gracia.
“I believe in my players, I believe in my squad and knowing we have some players that have some little issues. They're not in the best condition, but all of them want to help the team, playing some minutes, training two or three days per week because they cannot train more, but, at the end, in the conditions they are, all of them want to help the team and that's the main reason to be optimistic."
The head coach was then asked to clarify whether his comments were about Gnonto specifically. The penny then dropped for Gracia.
"No, if I said something about Gnonto, maybe I made a mistake because I didn't understand,” he said. “Gnonto is ready. He had a little issue, he had some problem, but now he's ready.
“He's training from the last weeks and, in the beginning when he came back, it's true I tried to protect a little bit, but now he's ready and available."
It could not be any clearer. Gnonto is ready and with this team in crisis, he has to start and be given the biggest window possible to drag the team out of bother.
If Gnonto is on the bench once again, Gracia may have just made a rod for his own back with his crystal clear outlook on the teenager.
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