Injury expert and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery has given his verdict on the injury suffered by Leeds United's Liam Cooper.
The Lowdown: Cooper misses training
Phil Hay of The Athletic said that the defender wouldn't be available for their Premier League match with Brentford last Sunday, but that manager Jesse Marsch was hopeful he will be back training next week.
Cooper has played 12 league games this season for the Whites, scoring his only goal of the campaign in Leeds' tight 4-3 victory against Bournemouth back in November.
Prior to his latest setback, the Whites skipper had put together a decent run of games before suffering an injury in training last week, which saw him miss Leeds' FA Cup replay against Cardiff City.
The Latest: Dinnery gives Cooper injury verdict
Speaking on the Premier FPL Injuries YouTube channel, Dinnery touched on the injury suffered by Cooper and claimed that Marsch had initially expected him to be involved against the Bees.
He stated: "Liam Cooper was out of the matchday squad. Jesse Marsch had spoken about this minor issue he picked up while warming up in training, said he fully expected him to be involved.
"However, when he tried to put him through his paces in training on the Saturday, he felt that, and that's why January signing Max Wober came in for his full Premier League debut.
"The expectation is that he will be on the training pitches this week; he could start in the FA Cup, but again, that remains to be seen."
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The Verdict: Stick with Wober
New signing Maximilian Wober, who joined at the start of the month from Red Bull Salzburg for around £11m, was given the nod by Marsch to start in Leeds' latest Premier League clash.
The Leeds boss has raved about his new January addition in a recent press conference (via Leeds Live), stating that the player has fitted in 'seamlessly' at Elland Road.
We believe that Whites should stick with Austrian in the centre-back position going forward, as he excels over Cooper in most defensive areas.
Wober averages 2.74 tackles per 90 minutes over the last year as well as making 2.15 blocks, while Cooper's numbers in those categories come out at 2.02 and 0.75 respectively.
Leeds have shipped 33 league goals this season, the fourth-worst total in the Premier League. If they want to tighten up at the back, we believe Wober is a better option than Cooper, as his evident ability to stop the opposition on the ball and willingness to get his body in the way are the types of traits the club will need in a relegation fight.
Hopefully, the new Whites ace will be more reliable from a fitness point of view, too.