Evans reveals star Leeds midfielder struggling with his fitness
By Coral Barry
Steve Evans has revealed Toumani Diagouraga is not fully fit after he left the midfielder on the bench for Leeds' 4-1 defeat to Huddersfield on Saturday.
Diagouraga, 28, missed just his second Championship game of the season at the weekend amid concerns about his fitness.
Local rivals Huddersfield ended Leeds' three game winning streak in the league with a comfortable victory and Evans explained why he dropped star midfielder Diagouraga for the fixture.
"Toumani was straightforward," said Evans speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post. "He was struggling late in the game at Blackburn [a week ago].
"He trained but to my eyesight he trained a bit gingerly so I wasn’t sure whether to put him out there from the start."
The defeat all but ends Leeds' ambitions for a play-off spot after their recent run of form had sparked hopes of a late push.
The Whites sit in 13th in the Championship and 15 points off 6th place with nine games left to play.
The international break gives Leeds a two week rest with their next match up against Evans' old side Rotherham United on 2 April.