Presenter and YouTuber Conor McGilligan has suggested that Wilfried Gnonto has not been playing as he may have fallen out with Leeds United manager Javi Gracia, as opposed to an apparent injury.

What's the latest injury news for Leeds and Wilfried Gnonto?

The talented winger has not been able to secure regular minutes since the Spaniard took charge and hasn't started any of the club's last four league matches.

In part, that has been due to injury, but in that run, Gnonto only missed the trip to Arsenal - and has been in the matchday squad for the three games since, playing just 33 minutes in that time.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's Premier League trip to Fulham, Gracia explained why the 19-year-old hasn't been playing much, telling LeedsLive: "Gnonto is ready. He had a little issue, he had some problem, now he's ready. He's training from the last few weeks and in the beginning when he came back, it's true that I tried to protect him a little bit, but now he's ready and available."

It's certainly interesting to hear the 52-year-old admit he has been deliberately not playing Gnonto to "protect him", though this seems to have left McGilligan suspicious.

Indeed, while talking about it all on the One Leeds Fan Channel, the podcaster claimed that there may be an issue between the player and the manager.

He said: "I am maybe a little bit more dubious as to whether or not Willy Gnonto has this injury that has kept him out.

"Maybe that's me being a little bit curious and a little bit hypothetical a bit about the scenario. Hopefully I'm wrong and it is just down to an injury, but I do feel that maybe a little bit more has gone on there between Willy and Gracia."

Have Gracia and Gnonto fallen out?

Earlier in the season, Gnonto – who earns £20k per week – had established himself as a regular under former boss Jesse Marsch and actually started the American's last seven games before he was sacked.

He also earned plenty of praise in this period, too. For instance, after a loss to Aston Villa, Gary Neville told Sky Sports (via Mail Online): "To see someone so mature, so young is very unusual in that position.

"Sometimes you see potential and talent, but watching him so closely, his understanding of where to be, his choice of pass, when to run with it, his awareness of teammates, really good, honestly."

With that being the case, it does seem odd that Gracia would arrive at Leeds and not rate Gnonto. And after admitting that the player's injury hasn't been that bad, perhaps he might be benching the Italian for non-footballing reasons.

After all, in the midst of a relegation battle, you'd hardly be worried about protecting one of your best players. You'd probably be desperate to get them back on the pitch the moment they were fit again, so we are also curious about this situation and will be keen to see whether he gets the nod this weekend.