Michael Skubala issues injuries updates on Leeds United quartet and assesses difficult task

Skubala revealed at Tuesday's pre-match press conference that Leeds had a few "bumps and bruises" in addition to the longer term injuries and both Liam Cooper and Marc Roca were not involved at Old Trafford.

The Whites then lost Luis Sinisterra to what looked like a hamstring injury in just the eighth minute before Pascal Struijk was also taken off 15 minutes later after getting whacked in the face when blocking a Marcus Rashford shot.

Leeds will return to action with the reverse league fixture against the Red Devils at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon, ahead of which Skubala said he would need to check on the condition of all four of United's newest injuries.

Asked about Struijk and how unlikely he was to feature on Sunday, Skubala said: "We have to go and assess with the medical team and see how he is. I think he's taken a big blow. He's okay at the minute, he is a little bit dizzy but at the moment I just need to go and speak to the medical team and see them and see how he is.

"We took a few early knocks early on with a few injuries and that made it difficult for the second half with the amount of stoppages we can have but we need to go back and assess and see how everybody is. It's a shame to lose some good players but we'll have to dig deeper and be together."

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of kick-off, Skubala revealed that Cooper and Roca were both absent because of knocks.

"Both have got a little bit of a knock," he said. "We have brought in the changes just to make sure it's a bit like for like but we we are just looking after a few bodies at the moment as well."

Roca was replaced by high profile January signing Weston McKennie who was handed his full Whites league debut in a midfield three next to fellow USA international star Tyler Adams and also Jack Harrison. The absence of Copper, meanwhile, was filled by Robin Koch who returned to the heart of the defence alongside Max Wober upon being back available after serving a one match ban for amassing five bookings.

Leeds were then forced to make another change to their back line as Struijk was forced off and replaced by Junior Firpo who Skubala had particular praise for in light of a difficult task coming off the bench.

Asked about the Whites defence and how impressed he was with Ayling, Koch and Wober, Skubala said "Really good. And Firpo came in as well, Junior, and I thought he had a good performance when he came in and it's tough to come into a game like that. I thought the whole backline was really good and really solid."

Pressed for an update on Cooper and Roca, Skubala said: "With both of them we just thought it was a bit too early for them for this game. We need to assess them and see how they'll be if they're ready for Sunday."