Former Scotland boss Alex McLeish says he expects Liam Cooper to miss games more regularly for Leeds United in future.
The Whites captain is set to miss this weekend's fixture against Burnley after picking up an abdominal injury against Manchester United.
McLeish expects the centre-back to be a big miss for Leeds and says it is a symptom of such a hectic season.
Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish said that 29-year-old Cooper will likely pick up more niggling injuries as he gets older and fixture congestion starts to pile up.
He said: "That’s when you do fear for your squad when you lose key players and you don’t have replacements.
"That is a very, very difficult thing to put a sticking plaster on, it’s so difficult because it can affect the whole team.
"We’ve spoken on this chat about injuries because of the amount of games players are playing and the internationals as well, there was a stream of those, squeeze them all in in advance of the Euros.
"Somewhere, it’s gonna take its toll and sometimes, especially in older players – when I was in my 30s, you start to pick up little things a hamstring here or that kind of thing.
"Despite all the training you’ve done over the years, you’ve still got an inherent fitness, but as your legs are getting older and you start to get the niggles and injuries.
"Cooper has been playing an intensity and it’s harder for especially the Leeds defenders because they’re so gallant a team going forward, it leaves them with a lot of work to do at the back."
Cooper had previously been called up for the national team by McLeish's predecessor Gordon Strachan but was omitted from each of McLeish's squad during his second stint as manager between 2018 and 2019.
He eventually made his debut under Steve Clarke last year.
