'A few days' - Leeds United boss optimistic on Crysencio Summerville injury as rolled ankle fears addressed

Farke was asked by reporters in the aftermath of Leeds' 2-0 win over the South London club whether young duo Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville had sustained injuries in the feisty affair at Elland Road. Referee Stephen Martin showed seven yellow cards during the contest, while Millwall skipper Jake Cooper was deemed fortunate not to see red after a number of caution-worthy challenges.

Dutch winger Summerville has been on the receiving end of plenty of harsh treatment from opposition defenders this season, sometimes finishing games on the bench with ice strapped to his ankle. Nevertheless, he has appeared in every league game since August, only missing matches against Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Ipswich Town at the beginning of the season with a groin strain - the latter as an unused substitute.

While Summerville was not called up for international duty this month, Gray's inclusion in England's Under-21 setup for the first time indicates his injury situation is not severe and as Farke initially prescribed.

"I think with Archie it's hopefully just a hit, at least that was the first assessment. It's not like he rolled his ankle, it's a pretty, pretty painful hit with a bruise but it seems that nothing is broken or there's damage anyhow - it seems it's just pretty, pretty painful," Farke said after the win on March 17.

Gray came off the bench during England's 5-1 victory over Azerbaijan in U21 European Championships qualifying last Friday, getting on the scoresheet after a couple of minutes with a well-taken effort from the right-hand side of the penalty area.

"With Cree [Summerville] I'm also carefully optimistic," Farke added two Sundays ago. "We have to wait a little bit, it was also a hit.

"I hope it's just a bit overstretched, just a few days [out] and then he's back on the pitch."

Summerville was substituted in the 74th minute of Leeds' last Championship outing with United holding a slender one-goal lead at the time of his withdrawal. Last month, Farke removed the Dutchman before the final whistle during wins against Rotherham United and Swansea City, although on both occasions Leeds were three goals to the good. His substitution with a quarter of an hour remaining versus Millwall did suggest Farke chose to protect the 22-year-old from further punishment.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, only Georginio Rutter (92) has been fouled more times for Leeds than Summerville (58) in the Championship this season.

Given the similarities between Farke's optimistic diagnoses of Gray and Summerville, the former's involvement for England during the international break and the latter's repeated ability to bounce back from knocks and niggles throughout the season, there is every chance Summerville will be able to feature from the start on Good Friday as Leeds face Watford. Farke is expected to provide a fresh update on the Dutchman's condition on Wednesday afternoon during his pre-match press conference, having spent the past week working closely and individually with the player at Thorp Arch.

Teammate Georginio also faces a race against time to be fit for Leeds' visit to Vicarage Road after undergoing a successful hernia operation last week.