When Joe Rodon could return for Leeds United and games he'll miss through injury
Leeds United have been without their Welsh warrior for a few weeks and it’s expected to be a few more before a comeback.
Leeds United defender Joe Rodon had been virtually ever-present under Daniel Farke until a hamstring injury scuppered his start to the season.
Rodon pulled up in some discomfort after chasing down a ball in behind the Leeds defence during a 1-1 draw at home to Brentford in August. He was replaced by Nico Elvedi and looked devastated while trudging around the Elland Road pitch.
Farke immediately revealed a hamstring issue for his Welsh warrior and confirmed everyone’s worst fears ahead of the following weekend’s trip to Brighton. Rodon had suffered a serious injury and would be out for several weeks.
”Bad news for him, a serious hamstring injury,” Farke said between those games. “He will be out for eight to 10 weeks. Definitely not playing before the next international break. A big blow for us because he’s a key player but it’s football sometimes.”
Prior to this current period, Rodon had only missed three games through injury. The Welshman had two ankle problems during the 2025/26 campaign and recovered from both relatively quickly.
But muscle injuries, and those involving the hamstring in particular, have to be carefully managed. So far Rodon has sat out games against Brighton, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace.
That four-game absence is expected to double, with five fixtures for Leeds to play before the November international break. In that period, the Whites host Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur while travelling to Arsenal, Sunderland and Bournemouth.
Rodon suffered his injury on August 30, with an eight-week absence taking him to October 25 - the date of Leeds’ trip to Sunderland. A 10-week recovery timeline would stretch to November 8 which is the day after Farke’s side host Tottenham in the final game before the break.
If Rodon’s recovery is closer towards that 10-week timescale, given the seriousness and need to regain full fitness, it could be that he uses the two-week international break almost as a mini-pre-season. In such a scenario, he could return at Chelsea on November 21.
Fortunately, at present there is no serious need for Leeds to rush Rodon back. They’ve been excellent defensively even in his absence, with James Justin moving across to right-sided centre-back.
The return to fitness of Gabriel Gudmundsson and loan signing of Melvin Bard means Leeds are well covered at left wing-back and Jayden Bogle has the right side nailed down. Only injury to the latter could cause problems, albeit Farke also has options at centre-back.
Jaka Bijol is currently being kept out of the starting-XI by summer arrival Nico Elvedi, who has settled into life at Elland Road with impressive ease. In the unfortunate scenario of an injury to Bogle or Justin, one of Bijol or Elvedi could feasibly move across to right centre-back.