Manager reveals 'question mark' over Leeds United international star's fitness amid ongoing injury concerns
Daniel Farke will be desperate not to welcome any injured Leeds United players back to Thorp Arch.
Austrian national team coach Ralf Rangnick has raised questions over the fitness of Max Wober ahead of this evening’s UEFA Nations League clash against Norway.
Wober has been managing an ongoing calf issue during the early weeks of Leeds United’s 2024/24 campaign, missing the 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday last month. Having returned to the substitutes bench for the victory over Hull City just over a week ago, all looked well and his inclusion in the Austria squad confirmed as much.
The defender raised concerns over the state of the pitch for his side’s opening game against Slovenia in Ljubljana, but got a full 90 minutes under his belt and performed well. However, it seems there are still concerns regarding fitness, with Rangnick issuing a fitness update ahead of this evening’s clash.
"There is currently a question mark over Maximilian Wober's participation,” Rangnick told reporters, as reported by Kicker. “We also have to see whether Phillipp Mwene is fully fit.”
Wober has been fighting a calf issue all season and watched on from the bench for large parts of the campaign, having been unable to usurp either Pascal Struijk at centre-back or Junior Firpo at left-back. The 26-year-old was handed a first start in the Carabao Cup clash against Middlesbrough but struggled in a woeful 3-0 defeat.
Speaking ahead of Austria’s first game in Slovenia, Wober appeared to ease concerns of a serious issue. “Nothing major, but it should (needs to) heal properly this early in the season,” he told local outlet Kronen Zeitung. “I trained normally all last week, now it’s fine again.”
Rangnick was not quoted going into any detail regarding Wober’s fitness, and it could be that the head coach has concerns over whether he could play another full 90 minutes so quickly, given he has just 62 minutes of club football under his belt this season. There will be more clarity when the starting line-up is released later this evening.
Leeds have a number of players still to feature during the break and will be desperate to welcome them all back unscathed. There were concerns over Wilfried Gnonto after he was taken off at half-time during Italy Under-21s 7-0 victory over San Marino, but the decision looks to have been precautionary. Following the second round of international fixtures, players will return to West Yorkshire and get straight to preparing for Saturday’s visit of Burnley to Elland Road.