Leeds United: Ilia Gruev availability update emerges ahead of Hull City game | OneFootball

Daniel Farke is still waiting to see whether midfielder Ilia Gruev can be back in action for Leeds United's clash against Hull City on Monday, according to The Athletic's Phil Hay.

The Whites had a few players out of action for yesterday's clash against Watford and that was a blow for them.

Earlier in the day, Leicester City lost against Bristol City and that gave Leeds a real opportunity to capitalise at Vicarage Road.

Not only this, but they would have wanted to remain above Ipswich Town, who had beaten Blackburn Rovers shortly before the Whites took to the pitch in Hertfordshire.

Willy Gnonto, Connor Roberts and Gruev were all missing from the starting lineup - and that's potentially a key reason why the West Yorkshire side were only able to secure a point on the day.

Goals from Crysencio Summerville and Mateo Joseph ensured Farke's side came away from the game with something - and they need to be looking ahead now.

Unfortunately for Leeds, both Gnonto and Roberts are set to spend around three weeks out of action, which is a big blow for the Whites during a busy fixture schedule and in their quest to seal a Premier League return at the first time of asking.

Gruev struggled to win much game time during the earlier stages of the campaign, but he has been one of the first names on the teamsheet in recent times, with the player benefitting from Ethan Ampadu's switch to a centre-back role.

And with Pascal Struijk set to spend the remainder of the season out of action, Gruev could have been a key player again yesterday.

He missed yesterday's clash at Vicarage Road after sustaining an injury whilst on international duty with Bulgaria, but he could potentially make it back in time for Monday's game against Hull.

Leeds staff are waiting to see whether he's available and if so, you imagine he would come back in for Liam Cooper.

Leeds United would benefit from having Ilia Gruev back in the fold

Gruev has been a key player recently - but his injury led to the centre-back partnership of Ampadu and Joe Rodon being broken up.

That isn't exactly ideal and Farke will want the Bulgarian back in action as quickly as possible.

They can't afford to rush him back if he isn't ready - because the Whites have enough injuries to cope with - without Gruev sustaining a setback.

But if he's fully fit for Monday's game, he should probably start because his contributions could end up making a real difference for Leeds following their draw yesterday.

Leeds can't afford to drop too many points, so having their best team or something close to it could be crucial, and the midfielder is a big part of that.

His injury reinforces how detrimental the break was for Leeds though, so having him back would be a much-needed boost.