Leeds United have revealed top scorer Rodrigo will spent the next two months on the sidelines through injury. The forward sustained the ankle injury in the 3-1 win over Accrington Stanley on Saturday afternoon.
With scans showing bone and ligament damage at the joint, Rodrigo has undergone minor surgery this week to rectify the issue. As such, he will spend the next few weeks in the treatment room, watching on as Leeds enter what looks to be a critical point in the Premier League season.
It is hoped he will be fit to make a return by the end of March, but the news is clearly a huge blow for Jesse Marsch, who spoke last weekend of injuries clearing up at Thorp Arch. Rodrigo has scored 12 goals in all competitions for the Whites and although the head coach does have numbers in attacking areas, the Spaniard's presence in the side will be sorely missed.
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Rodrigo was named on the bench for the clash at the Wham Stadium, with Marsch opting to rotate his starting XI in the fourth round of the FA Cup. However, the 31-year-old emerged as a substitute in the second half to play the final 21 minutes of the tie and give Luis Sinisterra a rest after making his first start since October.
It’s unclear when Rodrigo picked up the issue, but he made it to the end of the match in Lancashire and it wasn’t mentioned by Marsch in his post-match interview. However, the injury has been identified this week and he has since gone under the knife.
As such, Rodrigo will miss the club’s fifth round cup tie against either Fulham or Sunderland and he is also expected to miss around eight Premier League fixtures. The Whites face a number of key games in that time with games against Nottingham Forest, Everton, Southampton and Wolves being seen as survival six-pointers at the foot of the table.
He’ll also miss the double header with Manchester United and the trip to face bitter rivals Chelsea in March. The head coach does have options, though, with Patrick Bamford considered to be fit and firing once more, while record signing Georginio Rutter can only lead the line, having arrived from Hoffenheim last month.
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