YORK-BORN Niall Huggins will be hoping to taste more Premier League action with Leeds United in the near future.
With injuries piling up at Elland Road, the 20-year-old has found himself on the bench for the last five games, coming on for his debut in the 4-2 defeat at Arsenal earlier this month.
Internationals Kalvin Phillips (calf) and Rodrigo (groin) will both miss Saturday’s game with Aston Villa (5.30pm) while Mateusz Klich and Jamie Shackleton also have doubts over their fitness.
Klich limped off during Tuesday’s 3-0 home win against Southampton, a match Shackleton missed because of an abductor problem.
That leaves Leeds a bit light in the midfield department although coach Marcelo Bielsa still has Stuart Dallas, Tyler Roberts and Pablo Hernandez to call upon. Either Diego Llorente or Pascal Struijk could fill Phillips’ defensive midfield slot if Bielsa opts for just one of them to partner skipper Liam Cooper in a back four.
Either way the progressive Huggins looks likely to be in the squad again. With Leeds on course to secure their top-flight status ahead of schedule it will be interesting to see if Bielsa bloods some of the successful under-23 side before the campaign ends. The young Whites top Premier League 2 having won their last nine matches – the latest being a 2-0 win at Norwich.
Huggins, Charlie Cresswell, Joe Geldhardt and Jack Jenkins have all been in the senior squad in recent games with Huggins acquitting himself well at the Emirates, filling a variety of roles after coming on in the 53rd minute with Leeds 4-0 down. He popped up at full-back, on the wing and in a more central role to help the Whites pull a couple of goals back before the final whistle.
The ex-Fulford School student has already played for Wales-21s, qualifying to play for the Principality through his father. At the end of last year Huggins signed a Leeds contract lasting to the end of 2022-23.
He played for Heworth Under-8s before joining the Leeds Academy in 2009 alongside winger Jack Clarke, who Leeds sold to Tottenham for £10m in July 2019. Clarke is currently on loan with Stoke City.
Defender Robin Koch is expected to return to Leeds in a few weeks’ time after recovering from knee surgery which has ruled him out of action since early December.
Should Leeds beat Dean Smith’s side they will not only leapfrog Villa into eighth place but go ahead of Tottenham who entertain Burnley on Sunday.
All three of United’s fixtures next month have been altered for live televised coverage. They will now travel to West Ham on Monday, 8 March (8pm), entertain Chelsea on Saturday, 13 March (12.30pm) and visit Fulham on Friday, March 19 (8pm).
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