Jesse Marsch hopes to be able to call on Leeds United youngster Archie Gray on Friday as the Whites take on Crystal Palace in the final game of their pre-season tour of Australia. The youngster was stretchered off during Sunday’s clash with Aston Villa at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane after being caught on the ankle by John McGinn.
Suggestions after the game were that 16-year-old had sprained his ankle, but Marsch has revealed he will be training on his own today at the Fremantle Oval and he could be set to be involved in some capacity on Friday night at Perth’s Optus Stadium. Cody Drameh should be available, too, despite struggling with a hamstring issue.
“Archie is going to be on the pitch today,” Marsch said when asked about the club’s injury situation. “He’s not training with the team but doing some individual work with the hope that he can potentially be available for the match on Friday. We'll see.
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“Cody Drameh has a little bit of a hamstring strain but nothing I don't think that is too drastic. Hopefully he will be available for tomorrow and Friday.”
The Whites are still without Liam Cooper, though, who is struggling with the Achilles injury he picked up just pre-season. Cooper hasn’t had a minute of action Down Under, but he has been training on his own and he will continue to be assessed by the club’s medical staff over Leeds’ next couple of days in Western Australia.
“Liam Cooper is still nursing his Achilles issue which of all things he picked up training in the offseason on a treadmill, “ he added. “So it's been about a month now and we haven't really been able to get him going. We're hopeful that here in the next days, we can get him more and more on the pitch.”
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