Steve Clarke confirms blow for Leeds captain Liam Cooper

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Steve Clarke has confirmed to Sky Sports (broadcast on 11/10; 19:34) that Liam Cooper has sustained an injury that will rule the Leeds United captain out of Scotland’s next two games.

Cooper was included for Scotland’s play-off semi-final with Israel this week. The Whites skipper went on to play all 120 minutes as Clarke’s men won on penalties at Hampden Park.

Unfortunately, it appears that that effort has come at a price. Speculation surrounding Cooper started to grow following the announcement of Scotland’s lineup for their Nations League clash with Slovakia on Sunday.

The 29-year-old was nowhere to be seen in the squad. And ahead of the game, Clarke confirmed that the defender will not feature again in this international break.

“Unfortunately, Liam Cooper’s picked up an injury and he’ll be out the next two games,” he told Sky Sports.

TBR View: Another big blow for Leeds

Leeds fans will be anxiously awaiting a further update on Cooper. Clarke’s focus is obviously on the games against Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

But the Whites have already been dealt a potential injury blow this weekend. Spain confirmed on Twitter that Diego Llorente will miss their final game after picking up a muscle injury in training.

It remains to be seen whether either has sustained a problem serious enough to rule them out of action for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

But there is no question that Leeds’s task of capitalising on their promising start to the season will be much tougher if both Cooper and Llorente are missing for any prolonged period.