Roefs injury latest + why Xhaka is a substitute

Sunderland, who did not play Robin Roefs (£4.9 million) and only have Granite Xhaka (£5.1m) on the bench, ensuring a narrow 1-0 win over Leeds United.

Here are our Scout Notes from Elland Road.

RECENT ROEFS INJURIES

Roefs was absent from the matchday squad on Tuesday, a blow to his 11.3% possession.

Ahead of the match, Regis Le Bris confirmed he had a hamstring injury.

“A minor hamstring injury. He stretched his leg when he made a good save for us at Bournemouth, but unfortunately, he has an injury. I hope it won’t be too long.” – Regis Le Bris on Robin Roefs

Le Bris then revealed that Roefs could be out for two to three weeks.

“At the moment it’s still unclear because this is only based on symptoms. Maybe it will take two, maybe three weeks. We’ll see in Newcastle.” [Gameweek 31]we’ll see, we have to wait.” – Regis Le Bris on Robin Roefs

Bertrand Traore (£5.5m), meanwhile, had to be withdrawn due to a potential knee injury.

Le Bris also said Jocelyn Ta-Bi (£5.0m) has had surgery on his ankle and is expected to be out for 10 to 12 weeks.

WHY XHAKA IS A SUB

In another setback, Xhaka was left on the bench after only returning from injury on Saturday, when he played 75 minutes in the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.

Le Bris explained that fast turnaround time between matches was a key factor.

“We followed the process for Granit, three days after the last game felt too short for him to start. He will return to the pitch later.” – Regis Le Bris on Granite Heritage

Xhaka was introduced just before the hour mark at Elland Road, and it was no coincidence that Sunderland showed immediate improvement following his arrival.

ANOTHER SUNDERLAND CLEAN SHEET, DIARRA PEN

With Roefs out, the goalkeeper is worth £4.0m Melker Ellborg received his debut, after only joining the club in the January transfer window.

The 22-year-old also impressed, making four saves and earning the maximum bonus.

Performances from Omar Alderete (£4.1 million) and Dan Ballard (£4.6m) in front of him certainly helped, with a superb centre-back partnership throughout the game.

Consistently positioned to intercept everything aimed at them, they both gain defensive contribution points (DefCon), with 22 and 16 DefCon respectively.

“Umar [Alderete] and Dan [Ballard] very impressive – they are back to their best level.” – Regis Le Bris

Sunderland have now kept nine clean sheets this season, the sixth most of any team, and their fourth on the road.

Above: Teams ranked by clean sheets in 2025/26

Le Bris’ men found a way to win at Elland Road, but it certainly wasn’t pretty.

Of course, Habib DiarraA second-half penalty (£5.3m) was Sunderland’s only shot on target.

Diarra stepped up to score the penalty Enzo Le Cost (£5.0m) on the pitch, despite a terrible penalty.

Le Fee at least delivered DefCon points, with some very impressive off-the-ball work.

CALVERT-LEWIN EMPTY

As for Leeds, they dominated possession (70% possession) but lacked quality in the final third, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.7m) as a result blanked for the sixth time in seven games.

In that period, he scored just one goal on 14 shots, for a conversion rate of just 7.1%.

He also missed six of his seven big chances.

“Clarity in the final third. This is what we have to add. Performance-wise, what we have invested in, we cannot complain. We are always critical of ourselves. You need to put the ball in the net. This is what we need to improve.” – Daniel Wake up

Joe Rodon (£3.9m) came close to scoring on Tuesday, when his goal from a Anton Stach The delivery (£4.7m) was disallowed for offside by VAR.

Stach deflected DefCon and also saved a free kick, for a total of three shots and two chances created.