Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has revealed that it has been "frustrating" to miss so much of the season through injury as he admitted his surprise over how long he has been out of action for.
The Whites skipper has started just 12 of Leeds' 26 Premier League matches this term as Luke Ayling has taken the armband in his absence. At centre-back, Max Wober has filled the gap left behind by the 31-year-old as the Austrian has taken no time at all to settle into a solid partnership with Robin Koch.
After missing the first six matches of the season through injury, Cooper then featured in the next 12 league games for Leeds. However, he has yet to feature for the Whites since a 90-minute display during a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in February - Jesse Marsch's last game as head coach.
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After being named on the bench for the loss to Everton at Goodison Park less than a month ago, Cooper's fitness concerns have prevented him from being included in any of Javi Gracia's matchday squads following his arrival at the club.
Writing in his pre-match programme notes ahead of the 2-2 draw with Brighton at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon, Cooper opened up on his lack of game time this season as he stressed his desire to return to action as soon as possible.
“Personally it’s been frustrating to miss the last few matches with injury and I didn’t expect to be out for as long as I have been," he said. "Naturally, all I want to do is get back out on the pitch as soon as possible and help the team as much as I can. Hopefully I can do that sooner rather than later."
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