Bakke faces lengthy absence

Eirik Bakke is facing up to three months on the sidelines after ignoring pleas from the club's medical staff to rest during the summer.

Bakke, who suffered a knee problem during the latter half of last season, opted to play for Norway in their European Championship qualifying games against Denmark and Romania, and a friendly against Finland.

The 25-year-old midfielder is now suffering from patella tendinitis and is unable to train.

Bakke has made just one brief appearance as a substitute against York this pre-season and Leeds physio Dave Hancock said: "He (Bakke) was advised to rest in the summer but by not doing this it has led to this problem now."

Leeds had informed Bakke and the Norwegian FA that he required rest over the summer, and the club will seek compensation if he is required to have an operation on the injury.

Bakke, who will travel to see a specialist in the United States to see if an operation is necessary, is set to miss the start of the new Premiership campaign as well as his country's crucial Euro 2004 qualifiers against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Luxembourg next month.

"I've had the injury since March and I've put too much pressure on it as I wanted to play the Euro 2004 qualification games this summer," Bakke told Leeds' website.