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Jamie Shackleton may end up with huge Leeds first-team chance

Leeds United youngster Jamie Shackleton may well be in line for an extended first-team chance by default after the club’s horrid injury luck continued this season.

Both senior right-backs Luke Ayling and Gaetano Berardi are both already sidelined with long-term injuries, with the pair expected to return in the New Year.

That meant Whites ace Stuart Dallas slipped into the full-back role as cover, but he is now set for an extended spell out of the squad too.

Leeds have that Dallas is expected to be missing for four to six weeks with a fracture on his foot, while centre-back Liam Cooper could also be out for six weeks.

That leaves manager Marcelo Bielsa with a major headache over the right-back spot and he may find the answer in an academy graduate.

(Photo by Kevin Barnes – CameraSport via Getty Images)

Bielsa has very much been forced into promoting youth this campaign due to injuries and as a result Shackleton has featured nine times in the senior team.

The 19-year-old is a central midfielder by trade that is confident in possession, but has also filled in at right-back on a couple of occasions.

He impressed earlier in the season away at Swansea City in the Championship in the full-back position and even got a great assist for a Kemar Roofe goal.

It would have been unimaginable at the beginning of the season that Shackleton would have got a run of games in the senior XI, but the window appears to have opened up for him to try seize.