Ampadu could return this season after avoiding surgery
Ethan Ampadu became the youngest Wales international to win 50 caps in March 2024
- Published
Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu is expected to return before the end of the season after avoiding surgery on his latest knee injury.
The 24-year-old Wales international had been expected to have an operation after missing Monday's top-of-the-table Championship win at Sheffield United.
But manager Daniel Farke says the club have decided to take the "conservative" route.
"The cartilage issue is complicated. Surgery would have meant him being out for the season," Farke told BBC Radio Leeds.
"The initial decision is for him not to undergo surgery, so a conservative approach has been adopted.
"It's hoped he could return in four to six weeks."
Ampadu is still a major doubt for the start of Wales' World Cup qualifying campaign, with a home game against Kazakhstan on 22 March and a trip to North Macedonia three days later.
He missed four matches of Wales' autumn Nations League campaign and sat out of 12 Leeds games after injuring his knee against Coventry City in September.