Leeds United face Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road on Saturday lunchtime, in game number 43 of their Sky Bet Championship campaign. 

The Whites are looking to return to winning ways after drawing at home with Sunderland during the week, with both Ipswich Town and Leicester City one point ahead in the table.

Speaking ahead of the match, Daniel Farke gave his thoughts on the game and gave an update on the fitness of his team. 

He said: “We had the news during this week with the announcement of Stuart Dallas’ retirement and I want to take the opportunity to pay tribute, and also to say thanks a lot for everything to Stuart in the name of our group. He’s a pretty integral and key part of our group and obviously, it was also quite emotional for all of us in the last days or so to learn that he has made the decision.

“We don't lose just a great player but also an unbelievable human being and I have to say I’m a bit sad that I was never allowed to send Stuart on the pitch as a manager, as my player, because once I signed a contract here, it was also one of the things I was really looking forward to.

“To have his experience and personality around the team and also in the dressing room, he is always there before the game and after the game to calm the nerves down or motivate when it is necessary.

“Against Sunderland, we gained one point and obviously we would have preferred to make a big step with three points but you also have to be respectful and if you can't win a game then you have to make sure that you’re there with a second best result.

“If you’re not switched on against Blackburn, they can hurt each and every opponent because they have so many players who can make things happen. Obviously, they have a player in red hot form with Sammie Szmodics during the season with so many goals and a handful of assists.

"They are very, very dangerous. They have shown just a couple of weeks ago what they are capable of when they were able to score five goals against Sunderland and cut them up into pieces.

“All the players that came through the last game all are available. For Ethan Ampadu, it was quite important also to recover a little bit so at the moment everyone is in good shape. It was important to have a few more days for Willy Gnonto and also for Connor Roberts to prepare after their muscle injuries.

"I think we are in a much, much better position than we were perhaps 10 days ago and for that we're looking forward to the game.”