Leeds United are sweating on injury news concerning key players ahead of their clash with Newcastle United's Premier League relegation rivals Fulham.
Marcelo Bielsa's men take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Friday night (March 19, 8pm kick-off) in front of the live Sky Sports cameras.
Newcastle fans will be hoping Leeds can do them a favour and beat Scott Parker's side, giving them a life going into their crunch clash with Brighton & Hove Albion the following day (Saturday, March 20).
The Magpies are currently fourth from bottom of the table, just two points clear of the drop zone, albeit with a game in hand.
Fulham occupy the third and final relegation slot as it stands but victory over Leeds would see them leapfrog Steve Bruce 's side.
Brighton are just one point and one position above Newcastle, so it promises to be a massive weekend in their season.
Leeds are sitting comfortably in 12th place - 10 points clear of the relegation places - following their promotion from the Championship last term.
They held fourth-placed Chelsea to a goalless draw at Elland Road on Saturday, though lost top scorer Patrick Bamford to injury during the match.
Bamford limped off with what appeared to be a leg injury 10 minutes before half-time after failing to recover from a clash with Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger.
The striker's replacement, Rodrigo, was substituted himself late on, though Bielsa said afterwards that it was due to the Spaniard still building up his match fitness rather than a fresh injury concern.
Leeds captain Liam Cooper was a surprise absentee against Chelsea. Bielsa confirmed after the game that the central defender had missed out due to illness.
There was more positive news regarding fellow defender Pascal Struijk, who made his return from injury and completed the full 90 minutes.
And another centre-back, Robin Koch, was named on the bench following a three-month lay-off due to a knee injury.
Koch was given a run-out for Leeds Under-23s against Newcastle on Monday as he builds up his fitness.
The German lined up alongside Gaetano Berardi, who is working his way back from a long-term injury himself.
Ian Poveda also featured from the start for the first time since suffering an ankle injury six weeks ago.
Elsewhere, Spanish playmaker Pablo Hernandez has missed the past couple of matches with a muscle problem, and midfielder Adam Forshaw is still recovering from a hip injury that has kept him out of action since September 2019.
Bielsa is expected to provide an update on the latest team news at his pre-match press conference, which is likely to take place on Wednesday (March 17).
