Leeds United captain Ethan Ampadu will be out until at least January following a knee ligament injury he suffered in their 3-0 Championship win over Coventry City on Saturday.
The Wales international will miss the rest of his country’s Nations League campaign, including October’s matches against Iceland and Montenegro.
The 24-year-old was replaced in the 41st minute by Japanese midfielder Ao Tanaka in their win over the Sky Blues at Elland Road.
Leeds boss Daniel Farke confirmed on Tuesday that Ampadu has picked up a serious knee injury but won’t be needing a surgery.
“It’s a serious knee injury, he has damaged his lateral ligament – the doctors have recommended a conservative treatment so he doesn’t need surgery,” the German said.
“It’s difficult to predict how long he will be out but it’s realistic to speak about 10 weeks until he can return to team training.
“It could be a few days more or less depending on the rehab. At the moment we expect him to be back in training at some point in December but he will need a bit of team training before he’s available.
“We expect him to be back [playing] at some point in January.”
Ampadu featured in all seven of Leeds’ matches in the Championship and also played in Wales’ Nations League games against Montenegro and Turkey in early September.
Leeds, who are currently fourth in the Championship with 15 points and are three points off league leaders Sunderland, were held to a 1-1 draw against Norwich City at Carrow Road on Tuesday.
