Liam Cooper has revealed that he felt tired towards the end of Leeds United’s 2-2 draw with Derby County on Wednesday, but insisted that he is close to attaining his full fitness level.
The defender started at Pride Park after serving a four-match suspension following his sending off in the 4-3 home defeat to Millwall in late January.
Cooper received a straight red card for a serious foul against the Lions and received an additional one-game ban as it was his second sending off of the season.
The 26-year-old did not have the best of games against Derby as his header found Andreas Weimann, who scored the Rams’ first goal.
And Cooper explained that although he was tiring at the end of the game, he feels he is very close to being fully match fit.
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“I enjoyed it”, he said on LUTV, when asked how he felt to be back playing.
“I was a bit tired for the last ten minutes, obviously that was because of a lack of games.
“But I felt I was very close to top fitness.
“I enjoyed it, it was good.”
Cooper went on to add that Leeds were disappointed at failing to send the fans home with a win as the Whites conceded an injury time equaliser at Pride Park.
“Again we came so close”, he continued.
“We wanted the send the fans home with a win.
“They travel in numbers every week – they are unbelievable.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t send them home with a win.”
