Dan James could return to action for Leeds United five weeks ahead of schedule this weekend.
Leeds manager Daniel Farke had previously expected the 27-year-old to be unavailable until after the November international break due to an ankle injury.
However, in his press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Burnley, Farke revealed significant progress for James in his recovery and praised the club’s medical department for their work in returning the winger to team training this week.
James will not be considered for a starting place at Turf Moor, but with winger Noah Okafor carrying an adductor complaint and other players recovering from a tiring break, the Wales international could be on the bench.
“Very positive and good news with Daniel James because he’s a bit ahead of schedule in his rehab,” said Farke. “Compliments to our medical department, our rehab coaches.
“He was already involved in major parts of team training during this week. He’s definitely not in contention for the starting line-up, but due to the fact we had lots of load and also a few problems in training, Noah Okafor is also struggling a little bit with some adductor problems, he could be in contention to be picked for the squad.”
By contrast, Wilfried Gnonto will be unavailable for the fourth consecutive match. While the Italy international has finally recovered from a calf injury, he used the break to undergo a minor hernia surgery.
Lucas Perri returned to full training before the Tottenham Hotspur loss, but Farke reported good progress by the Brazilian goalkeeper in the fortnight since. However, the manager feels he is not ready to supplant Karl Darlow between the sticks yet.
“Good news with Lucas Perri,” he said. “He was able to train the last two weeks together with us and was able to use this international break to build up his fitness level.
“Of course, after being out so long, he can’t be there at 100 per cent, but you see him growing from day to day, which is good news. With Willy Gnonto, he won’t be available for this game because his calf problems are sorted, but, sadly, he had to use the international break for a minor hernia surgery.
“It’s not a major thing, but he needed to do this and he will be back in team training next week. I expect to have him available, perhaps for Friday evening (against West Ham United), but definitely not for this away trip.”
