Today brought some good news and some bad news for Liam Cooper. The Leeds United captain was called up again for Scotland’s match against The Netherlands, but he will also miss the Derby County match tomorrow because of injury.
Cooper misses tomorrow's game. Jansson expected to replace him. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) October 30, 2017
The bad news first. Leeds captain Cooper will miss the next match after coming off injured during last Friday’s match against Sheffield United. Leeds lost the match 2-1, continuing a rather poor run of form. Cooper has been a mainstay in the side this season after being named captain by new head coach Thomas Christiansen this summer. His injury is yet another blow for the Leeds defence, which has seen Everton loanee Matthew Pennington miss over a month with an injury suffered against Bolton Wanderers on the first day of the season, Pontus Jansson miss multiple games with both injury and suspension. Young Conor Shaughnessy has even had to be drafted into starting at central defence on multiple occasions, after not being expected to even make the first team this season.
Cooper has already missed some time after being suspended for his red card against Cardiff City, and this injury will lead to further changes in the Leeds central defence, as it appeared that Cooper had cemented himself as the first choice among all centrebacks on the Leeds roster.
SCOTLAND | Here is your Scotland squad to face the Netherlands at Pittodrie next week #SCONED pic.twitter.com/E8hduz5KbA
— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) October 30, 2017
The good news, of sorts, is that Cooper was named to the Scotland team that will face off in a friendly against The Netherlands during the next international break. Scotland will play The Netherlands in a friendly at Aberdeen’s Pittodrie Stadium on 9 November. Scotland infamously failed to qualify for even the playoffs for next summer’s World Cup in Russia, leading to Leeds legend Gordon Strachan to resign.
Interim manager Malky Mackay has called up a few new names, but otherwise kept the Scotland squad pretty much the same to face the Dutch. The Netherlands are also dealing with their own disappointment, as they also failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after also missing the 2016 Euros.
Rest up Liam, and get better for the match against Brentford in London on Saturday 4 November. Knowing how the Leeds defence has been this season, one of the other centrebacks will likely be injured or suspended, so you’ll be needed.