Rodon ruled out for three weeks but injury not as bad as first feared

Leeds United defender Joe Rodon will be unavailable for league action for the first time since he signed from Tottenham Hotspur because of an injury sustained at Sunderland.

- by Graham Smyth

Rodon appeared to turn his ankle in two separate challenges at the Stadium of Light during what was a bruising first half for the defender.

Neither of the tackles resulted in a free-kick for Leeds or a card for the Sunderland player involved, but the second ultimately ended Rodon's evening.

Slow-motion replays showed the Welshman's leg bend in an unnatural fashion.

Though he attempted to play on, the centre-half had to be replaced before the game restarted following Sunderland's opening goal.

The Wales centre-half will miss his first league game in over two years - since October 2023 - having played in 104 consecutive matches.

He had been closing in on Leeds great Norman Hunter's run of 113 successive league games between 1962-65.