Leeds United: Daniel Farke provides update on Ethan Ampadu situation ahead of Preston | OneFootball

Ethan Ampadu made his return to the Leeds United team midweek

Daniel Farke has confirmed that Leeds United captain, Ethan Ampadu, is in contention to feature this weekend against Preston North End.

The midfielder returned from injury midweek in the team’s 3-1 win over Middlesbrough.

The Welshman came off the bench in the closing stages of the victory, replacing Sam Byram in the 85th minute.

This was his first appearance for Leeds since the end of September when he was forced off in their 3-0 win over Coventry City with a serious knee injury.

Daniel Farke provides exciting Leeds injury update

Farke has claimed that Ampadu is in contention for a place in the team this weekend, which will be a boost for the side during this busy festive period.

While he has suggested that the club will not look to rush him back into the starting lineup, the German is hoping he will be back to his best very soon.

“I am happy that Ethan is back,” said Farke, via the club’s official YouTube channel.

“But, also, sooner than expected.

“There is this old rule once a player is out for several weeks, normally it lasts ‘til he’s back at his best the same amount of weeks back in team training until he’s back at his best.

“I hope it will be a bit quicker with Ethan because, obviously, he was out for nine weeks. With this rule, the scenario would expect him to just be back at his prime in February or March.

“He’s a good player, has played many games before his injury, so I would expect him to be back at his best a bit sooner.

“But you can’t expect, after one week of team training, that he starts again where he finished more or less before this injury, where he was outstanding.

“He needs a bit of time I think, could even see in the last game you have to shake off the rust a little.

“I think these minutes in a competitive game were important for him, and step-by-step, without rushing, we will get him closer to the starting lineup.

“I made the point, he’s our captain, he’s our most important player. That doesn’t mean that from now on, when he’s just available, he will play each and every second.

“It’s not necessary to do this because of the good performances of other players.

“Thank god we don’t have the scenario where we need to rush him, so we can look a bit more after him.

“But, nevertheless, it’s a good feeling to have him back, and he’s in contention.

“From today, his chances for minutes will increase and then pretty soon I expect him to be back at his best.”

Ampadu’s return is a huge boost for Leeds

Farke has every reason to be happy with Ampadu’s return, as he is so important to this Leeds team.

The midfielder might take a couple of weeks to get back up to speed completely, but Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell’s recent performances mean that the pressure is off the club captain.

Leeds will now have strong midfield options once Ampadu is up and running, which will be a huge boost to their promotion chances.

Given the busy festive period, it also allows Farke some room for rotation, which he will appreciate considering the injury issues this team has had lately.