Injury expert issues ‘red flag’ Leeds United claim after ‘bizarre’ Liam Cooper twist
Leeds United will be concerned about the fitness of Liam Cooper after he suffered a “bizarre” injury at training on Monday afternoon.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
Leeds were forced to play their FA Cup replay against Cardiff City on Wednesday night without club captain Cooper after the 31-year-old defender suffered an injury in training.
Cooper has started 12 consecutive Premier League matches for Leeds, but his record looks likely to come to an end this weekend when Jesse Marsch’s side host Brentford.
Marsch described Cooper’s setback as a “strange knee injury” prior to the Cardiff match, but was unable to give a timeline for his return.
Dinnery believes this kind of non-contract injury is a “red flag”, making it very hard for medical staff to evaluate and decide the cause.
“Cooper pulled up in training on Monday afternoon and is still being assessed and evaluated,” Dinnery told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“Non-contact injuries are always a worry and a concern because they’re bizarre.
“If you’re looking at a specific mechanism, tackle, impact or twist then you’re able to get a fairly good understanding of what has happened.
“But when a player is actually just warming up and they’re not going through intensive or explosive movements then it’s very worrisome and a red flag.
“Leeds will hope and keep their fingers crossed that it is nothing too serious.“
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