Leeds United have been dealt an injury blow ahead of their Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace this weekend.

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That's according to a report by the Yorkshire Evening Post, who claim that, after missing the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday due to a twisted ankle, Adam Forshaw looks as if he will remain sidelined for the trip to Selhurst Park this weekend - with the central midfielder being yet to recover from his knock.

Bad news for Marsch

While it is true that Forshaw has not exactly been a regular fixture of Jesse Marsch's starting XI following the 48-year-old's arrival at the club in February this year - featuring in just nine games under the American's management, largely down to his injury setbacks - should the 30-year-old once again be ruled out of action this weekend, it will nevertheless be bad news for the manager.

Indeed, despite his lengthy injury layoffs, the £2.6m-rated midfielder proved over his 22 Premier League appearances last season that, when fit, he is an extremely reliable option in the middle of the park, making an average of 2.4 tackles - the sixth-most of the Whites squad - 0.9 interceptions, 0.5 clearances and winning 4.1 duels - at a success rate of 51% - per game.

The £20k-per-week talent also chipped in for his side in a creative capacity, registering one assist, as well as completing an average of 31.4 passes - at an 84% success rate - finding his man with 2.4 long balls and making 0.6 key passes per fixture.

These returns saw the 30-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 6.73, ranking him as Leeds' 13th-best performer in the top flight of English football last time out - proving his ability as an extremely solid squad player.

And, with the Premier League fixtures coming thick and fast for the Whites in the build-up to the Qatar World Cup next month, with Leeds playing eight times before now and November 12, squad rotation will be an incredibly important factor of Marsch's job over the next few weeks - as the 48-year-old simply must keep as many of his first-teamers as fresh as possible.

As such, Forshaw's continued absence will undoubtedly come as a blow to the American ahead of the trip to Palace, as not only does the 30-year-old's unavailability see the manager lose an extremely solid option in the middle of the park, but it also means the likes of Tyler Adams and Marc Roca are now unlikely to be afforded any sort of rest in south London.