Leeds United have been handed a big blow ahead of their game with West Ham on Friday with defender Robin Koch undergoing surgery for a knee injury sustained in their 3-1 defeat to Chelsea at the weekend.
Koch managed just nine minutes of the defeat at Stamford Bridge before he was forced off with the problem, replaced by Diego Llorente who is expected to deputise for the German when the Hammers visit Elland Road.
Koch has been an ever present for Marcelo Bielsa this season, playing in all ten Premier League matches and also featuring in four matches for the Germany national team across the last two international breaks.
The centre half initially injured his knee during his club debut against Liverpool at the very start of the season but was deemed fit enough to continue playing but Leeds’ medical staff for the following nine games.
However, following a collision shortly after Leeds took the lead at Stamford Bridge, Koch was forced off and he has now undergone surgery which rules him out of the West Ham clash and for the foreseeable future.
The 24-year-old joined Leeds from SC Freiburg in the summer after they failed to turn Ben White’s loan move from Brighton & Hove Albion into a permanent one and it looked to be a good shout too as Koch impressed in the Premier League.
When he joined the club earlier this year, Koch said the lure ofBielsa as manager was a key reason for wanting to join.
“Leeds is not a typical promoted side for me” he said.
“The classic defender might not move to Leeds. Normally promoted teams keep things tight at the back, it was called Kick and Rush in the past. But Marcelo Bielsa also plays pressing and fast-paced football in the Premier League.
“The attack begins in defence. After losing the ball, we often take opponents in man-to-man marking. This is new to me because sometimes I come to areas of the pitch where a defender doesn’t normally go. But that’s exciting and special.”
West Ham are expected to be without Michail Antonio for the trip to Yorkshire later this week. Andriy Yarmolenko is in contention for a return having been out of action for the past month following a positive covi0-19 test result while on international duty with Ukraine.
