Fifteen minutes of football in 53 days is far from the ideal preparation before facing the Premier League leaders, but Liam Cooper’s Scotland cameo could be huge for Leeds United. The captain has been missing in Leeds colours since Jesse Marsch’s final match in charge at Nottingham Forest.
There was a false dawn at Everton where caretaker Michael Skubala suggested the club captain was fit enough for the bench, but not extended minutes. Cooper would drop out of the squad altogether one week later and did not return until 12 days ago at Molineux.
Skubala and Javi Gracia’s reticence to talk about injuries in any detail has made it hard to put a finger on what exactly Cooper was suffering with and why it took so long to heal. It‘s bound to have been a frustrating period for him, but in his absence, Max Wober has settled into a fine partnership with Robin Koch.
