Leeds United winger Raphinha could be ruled out until "mid to late November", according to a report.
The 24-year-old limped off with an ankle injury shortly after half time in the 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, following a strong sliding tackle from Romain Saiss, who received a yellow card as a result.
Raphinha informed supporters on Instagram that the setback is "nothing serious" and that he will be "back soon", however injury expert Ben Dinnery – who has a background in medicine and data analysis – predicts that the winger is set for a spell on the sidelines.
"When I hear players and managers talk about injuries as 'nothing serious', I always take it with a pinch of salt. It can be kind of misleading. I have to admit, when I first saw that injury it didn't look pretty. This was a forced external rotation of the ankle," Dinnery told Football Insider.
"There was a strong indication that there was a high sprain. There was some suggestion that there could even be a fracture involved. So when I saw that update from Raphinha, I took that to mean the bones are intact. That leads me to believe it is indeed a high ankle sprain.
"Raphinha was carried from the pitch and went straight down the tunnel. That tells me that this could be quite severe. I am looking at this international break and I would be surprised if we see him before gameweek 13 in mid to late November."
Raphinha has become one of Leeds' most important players since his arrival from Rennes in October 2020, scoring nine goals and providing nine assists in 39 appearances for Marcelo Bielsa's side.
Oliver Thomas
