Leeds United manager Paul Heckingbottom has confirmed that January signing Laurens De Bock is facing a prolonged spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
De Bock, 25, was not in the matchday squad when Leeds lost 2-1 to Sheffield Wednesday at Elland Road on Sunday and was replaced by academy product Tom Pearce at left-back.
The Belgian is yet another defender ruled out for the Whites, joining right-back Luke Ayling and captain Liam Cooper on the sidelines. It’s a major blow for Leeds, who need as many of their first-team players free of injury to try and arrest this alarming slide down the Championship standings.
Heckingbottom’s woes are not helped by an injury to Samuel Saiz either, who has also suffered a hamstring injury but it is not as serious as De Bock’s.
“Him [Saiz] and Bocky [De Bock] have both got totally different hamstring injuries,” Heckingbottom said, as quoted by LeedsLive. He added: “Bocky’s slightly different,” Hekingbottom continued. “His is more damaging, he’ll be out for a while.”
