Farke on Rodon, 'one battle after another' and 'fantastic' Iraola
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium (kick-off 20:00 BST). Here are the key lines from his news conference: There are no fresh injury concerns and, barring any setbacks, centre-back Joe Rodon should be available having recovered from an ankle injury. Daniel James (adductor) is back in training, but the winger will need "session after session" before making a return.
Anton Stach is still waiting to return first-team training, though. The midfielder will not travel with the squad to Vitality Stadium and Farke added it is "difficult to say" if he will be available for Leeds' FA Cup semi-final this weekend. Farke added: "It is a crunch-time point in the season so I will push that he comes back into team training as soon as possible.
It's a question of days not weeks, but he has to be 100% fit otherwise it makes no sense to bring him back. " Farke praised his whole squad for stepping up when called upon this season, adding: "When a player like Anton [Stach] or Joe [Rodon] isn't available, it's a chance for others to shine. The players that have come in have done really well, with more or less every player already having the chance to be in the starting line-up or chip in with our good results.
" The Leeds boss said his side has "achieved a lot" in the past week, but "nothing is done yet" and it is important to "keep the foot on the gas" because "momentum can change pretty quickly" in top-flight football. He added: "We know we're in a good moment right now and we're on more than just a good path, but we still need and want more points. We want to ride on this wave a bit longer.
" The FA Cup semi-final on Sunday will not bear any impact on his approach to Wednesday's Premier League game: "It is one battle after another for us. We are just focused on our next game so nothing will distract us. Until Thursday morning, our only topic is Bournemouth.