Daniel Farke’s Whites are facing a tighter turnaround than Michael Carrick’s Riversiders who played on Friday night at Burnley. A 1-1 draw for Boro has left them fifth in the table and seven points behind second-placed Leeds whose weekend fixture took place on Saturday lunchtime at home to Derby County. A 2-0 win took Leeds from third to first before the Whites dropped back to second on Sunday through Sheffield United’s 2-2 draw at West Brom. But Leeds also suffered a fresh injury blow during Saturday’s win against the Rams that has now left five players out and three more doubtful for Tuesday night’s clash under the Elland Road lights. Here, we run through the injuries from both sides ahead of the eagerly-awaited showdown between two key promotion contenders with three men also returning.
1. Ilia Gruev (out)
United's Bulgarian international midfielder Gruev remains on the comeback trail from knee surgery and no set date has been given for his expected return. Photo: George Wood
2. Alex Bangura (out)
One of the longer term Boro injuries, Sierra Leone international winger Bangura expected to miss the majority of the season due to Achilles problems. Photo: Owen Humphreys
3. Tommy Smith (out)
Another Boro player out with an Achilles injury and the 32-year-old right back is another expected to miss the majority of the season. Photo: Ashley Allen
4. Darragh Lenihan (out)
Boro's Republic of Ireland international defender Lenihan is expected to be out until Christmas, if not the new year having suffered an ankle injury and then a setback with his Achilles. Photo: Stu Forster
5. Aidan Morris (out)
Boro's USA international midfielder Morris twisted his knee in training on international duty last month and was thought to be looking at a number of weeks out. Photo: George Wood
6. Junior Firpo (doubt)
Firpo suffered a hamstring injury during the first half of Saturday's win against Derby and substituted for Max Wober in the 21st minute. Farke said afterwards that Firpo's injury would need to be assessed but that he would probably miss the visit of Boro. Photo: George Wood