Daniel Farke only had bad news to deliver to Leeds United fans on Monday afternoon and it is that Ethan Ampadu will be out of action for a considerable amount of time.

Ethan Ampadu picked up a knock to his knee on Saturday and was withdrawn on 41 minutes during the 3-0 win over Coventry. He was replaced by Ao Tanaka, but Ampadu told Farke he didn’t feel it was serious.

However, Farke told Monday’s press conference that Ampadu has picked up a serious knee injury. The Leeds manager described it as a “big blow”, and the Leeds captain he will be out of action until January.

But Ampadu is not the only player that will be missing from the Leeds squad on Tuesday night. Leeds take on Norwich City at Carrow Road three days after the win over Mark Robins’ Coventry on Saturday.

Farke confirmed that four other players will be missing through injury on Tuesday night. Indeed, the German gaffer said that one of those four players will actually require surgery to correct an injury.

Daniel Farke confirms Leeds quartet missing with Ethan Ampadu

Farke says that Max Wober will require surgery to correct a knee injury. Left-footed defender Wober has been out since suffering ‘knee problems’ on international duty with Austria during September’s break.

Dan James and Manor Solomon will continue to get over their hamstring and back injuries, while new signing Isaac Schmidt has picked up an issue in his glutes and will be missing from Tuesday’s squad.

“Max Wober is set for a surgery, he needs meniscus repair and he will be out for six weeks. For Norwich, we will travel without Dan James, Manor Solomon and Schmidt is out. He reported some glute problems.”

How will Leeds line-up on Tuesday night with five stars missing?

Being without five players and preparing for a game just three days after a win over Coventry is not ideal for Farke, or for a squad that’s pretty small. The main issue is replacing Ampadu in the middle of the park.

Ilia Gruev is likely to revert to the anchoring role and Ao Tanaka comes in alongside him, as he did against Coventry. Joe Rothwell may feel he is in with a shout too, if Farke doesn’t think Tanaka is ready for a start.

With Wober and Schmidt sidelined, Junior Firpo and Pascal Struijk’s importance grows while Sam Byram will now be a key option from the bench. James Debayo is also likely to retain his place on the bench.

Elsewhere, James and Solomon continue to be sidelined and that cements Wilfried Gnonto and Largie Ramazani’s place in the starting XI. But the depth is reducing and the bench will show that on Tuesday.