The Athletic's Phil Hay has dropped a worrying Leeds United update on Diego Llorente after the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

What's the story?

Marcelo Bielsa's side fell to a disappointing loss to the Reds, with goals from Mohamed Salah, Fabinho and Sadio Mane enough to ensure that the ten-men of Leeds were left empty-handed at Elland Road in the Premier League.

Aside from the loss, one of the big concerns for Bielsa will no doubt be on Llorente's status after the Spaniard was forced off with an injury.

And now, writing on Twitter, Hay said: "Diego Llorente went off with a muscular problem yesterday. Still being assessed. Adam Forshaw had a calf strain so wasn’t in the squad. #lufc"

Fans will be worried

Despite enduring an injury-hit debut campaign at Leeds, Llorente showed exactly why the Whites paid around £18m to sign him from Real Sociedad last September, with BBC Sport journalist Adam Pope hailing the ability and quality the defender would bring to the tbale.

He said: "Marcelo Bielsa loves versatility so Llorente's ball-playing qualities and ability to do a job in front of the back four if required, like Brighton loanee Ben White did on occasion last season, will be a major plus."

The centre-back emerged as a cornerstone of Leeds' defence especially in the final few weeks of the previous campaign, starting 13 of the last 14 games in the Premier League and coming up with some big performances - not least netting a late equaliser against Liverpool.

His average match rating of 6.9 as per WhoScored, saw him rank as Leeds' second-best centre-back after club captain Liam Cooper, while the Scot was also the only player at the club to win more headers per game than Llorente's 2.2.

In fact, in a pre-match discussion for The Athletic, Hay talked up the kind of importance the Spaniard now has. saying: "Llorente seems like one of the keys to a good season. Fit and in form, there's a lot to like about him both one v one and as a collective part of the defence."

The fact that just four games into the new season, he seems to have picked up yet another niggly injury that could put him on the side-lines for the foreseeable future is sure to disrupt plans, especially when you consider Pascal Struijk is set to miss the next few games through suspension unless the club can successfully appeal it.

This latest update from Hay is a huge blow for Leeds and is sure to have fans extremely worried about the Whites going forward.

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