Michael Owen reckons playing with 10 men for more than an hour during Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal will have taken its toll on Leeds United's players ahead of tomorrow night's vital home clash against Chelsea. The former Liverpool, Real Madrid and England striker also believes Luke Ayling being suspended for the rest of the season - due to his 27th-minute red card at the Emirates for serious foul play - will have a detrimental impact on the Elland Road club's bid to beat the drop.
Right-back Ayling's three-match ban has given Whites boss Jesse Marsch a genuine dilemma in terms of who to call upon in that position. Stuart Dallas would normally be the obvious choice to deputise in the role, but he is out for an expected six months after breaking his leg against Manchester City nine days ago.
Jamie Shackleton is another option but he has not started a Premier League game since the 7-0 thrashing at Manchester City in December and Marsch suggested in his pre-match press conference that one of the centre backs could be pressed into wider action or that he could even turn to Dan James or Raphina in a wing-back role as another possible solution to the problem.
