Leon Set For Leeds Lift-Off

Leeds boss Dennis Wise has been boosted by the news that striker Leon Constantine is on target to feature with the first team for what promises to be a busy November. Striker Constantine, who hit 26 goals for Port Vale last season, has yet to make his competitive debut after breaking his ankle in a pre-season friendly at Czech side Slovan Liberec in July. His rehabilitation has been slower than expected but his impending return could not be better timed given the continuing worries surrounding the fitness of Norwegian Tore Andre Flo.

'Leon's now doing ball-work and isn't that far away. It's going to be good when he comes back. He's a very good footballer and a very good goalscorer in this division and I'm going to have more choice then,' Wise said. 'At the moment it's fallen into place with Kandol and Beckford, and that's panned out well. But we're bound to get injuries, suspensions and bad form, and a lot will depend on how we get through that.'

Meanwhile, Wise has told another long-term absentee, midfielder Shaun Derry, to go out on loan to increase his fitness. Derry, who has one year left on his current contract, has been out since January with an Achilles injury and at present does not feature in the manager's long term plans. 'He isn't going to play at the present moment here,' Wise said. 'He needs to go out on loan when he's fit, get fit, come back and we'll take it from there really.'