---
title: "Leeds: Ben Dinnery shares Liam Cooper ‘worry’"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/leeds-ben-dinnery-shares-liam-cooper-worry/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Charlie Smith"
section: "Leeds United News"
published: "2022-09-03T06:10:10Z"
modified: "2022-09-03T06:10:10Z"
---

# Leeds: Ben Dinnery shares Liam Cooper ‘worry’

**Injury expert [Ben Dinnery](https://mobile.twitter.com/bendinnery?lang=en) has made a worrying injury claim on [Leeds United](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/leeds-united-news/) captain Liam Cooper, [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/leeds-united-training-ground-claim-issued-by-dinnery-amid-cooper-latest/) report.**

### The Lowdown: Cooper’s season so far

Cooper, who missed [15](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/liam-cooper/leistungsdaten/spieler/75067/plus/0?saison=2021) games with a hamstring injury last season, has already endured more issues in the early stages of the 2022/23 campaign.

The 31-year-old [suffered](https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/jesse-marsch-leeds-united-injury-24669941) an achilles problem in the off-season and is [yet](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/liam-cooper/leistungsdaten/spieler/75067) to feature in any of Leeds’ five Premier League fixtures.

He did [feature](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/liam-cooper/leistungsdaten/spieler/75067) in an EFL Cup win against Barnsley, though, with Jesse Marsch stating on [Thursday](https://twitter.com/PhilHay_/status/1565318233275736067) that the centre-back is close to a start.

### The Latest: Dinnery’s comments

Dinnery, who contributes for [Sky Sports](https://mobile.twitter.com/bendinnery?lang=en), was talking to [FI](https://www.footballinsider247.com/leeds-united-training-ground-claim-issued-by-dinnery-amid-cooper-latest/) regarding Cooper in a story shared on Friday morning.

He cited the ‘treadmill problem’ Cooper picked up and said the ‘worry’ is missing out on large parts of pre-season and the opening stages of the Premier League campaign.

\[freshpress-poll id=”408362″\]

> “The issue goes back to the close season when Cooper was working to get fit for pre-season.
>
> “It was a treadmill problem and his achilles flared up.
>
> “We have seen sporadic returns to the training pitches and a few minutes here and there.
>
> “The worry is not so much the injury itself but more the fact that it is more time away from the training pitches and the first-team squad. It can feel impossible to catch up.
>
> “But the positive start for Jesse Marsch is that it has been a very positive start to the season, and therefore there isn’t that pressure to rush Cooper back. You can afford to manage the player a little bit better.”

### The Verdict: Caution

Cooper has struggled to stay fit over the last 12 months, and with no real pre-season under his belt, Marsch needs to be careful when bringing the skipper back into the first-team fold.

The Leeds boss has already lost a senior player in [Rodrigo](https://twitter.com/PhilHay_/status/1565318729650544640), and the last thing he’ll want is for Cooper to suffer a setback upon his return.

[Robin Koch](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robin-koch/leistungsdaten/spieler/328784) and [Diego Llorente](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/diego-llorente/leistungsdaten/spieler/246291) have been regulars at centre-back, with [Pascal Struijk](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/pascal-struijk/leistungsdaten/spieler/410708) used on the left due to Junior Firpo’s absence, so Leeds can’t really afford to lose Cooper for large parts of the campaign.