The major injuries which hurt Leeds United the most this season –
The Whites were beset by injury problems throughout the season, with key players ruled out for long spells
After a season marred by injuries, Leeds United managed to stay in the Premier League by a hair’s breadth. But which injury cost them the most points?
Kalvin Phillips would be a strong candidate. The 26-year-old England player started just 18 Premier League games for Leeds United after missing the entire middle of the season.
The rebuttal would be that Leeds did have some respectable midfield backup. The backup may not have been in Phillips’ level and may not have been as dominant, but they were respectable fill-ins.
The fact that the many injuries kept happening at the same time was a significant contributor to Leeds’ difficulties. The team lost two of its top international players when Liam Cooper and Phillips were both sidelined.
30 year old center back Cooper, who managed that back line, might have been a bigger loss than Phillips since his absence left a huge experience void. Cooper only managed to make 21 starts, and teammate center-back Robin Koch also missed a significant portion of the season due to injuries.
Another significant omission in terms of knowledge and expertise was Luke Ayling. Only 26 of the 30-year-old right-back’s starts came from him, and without him, Leeds lacked some of the enthusiasm that had been so important the season prior.
But there’s little doubt that Patrick Bamford was the biggest hit. He participated in every Premier League game last year and tallied eight assists in addition to his 17 goals.
Although he only started seven games for Leeds this season, he made his England debut and scored two goals. That represents a 15 goal gap and many league spots.
There was no one to take his position. Despite being playing out of position, poor Daniel James managed to score four goals despite not being a striker.
Joe Gelhardt stepped up and got two goals. Tyler Roberts tried to fill in and got one goal.
Rodrigo got six goals. Jack Harrison and Raphina were the club’s top scorers but none of them could reach the kind of goal-scoring threat posed by Bamford.
To make it in the Premier League a team needs goals. The lack of a striker is what cost Leeds United.