Huddersfield Town chief Andre Breitenreiter provides Tom Lees update ahead of ‘do-or-die’ Championship game with Birmingham City – and will make a morning call on his line-up

The seasoned defender hurt his knee late in Swansea City’s disastrous home defeat last Saturday.

It made the already painful weekend even more excruciating for Town, as rival struggling team Sheffield Wednesday’s triumph over Blackburn Rovers on Sunday afternoon only served to exacerbate the situation.

If Town loses against Blues at home, they’ll go down in the standings; however, if they triumph, they’ll move up above the Midlands team and force a decisive match at Suffolk Town.

Although Breitenreiter will select his starting lineup on Saturday morning, the absence of Lees will compel him to make one official alteration.

There are no fresh injury reports, according to Breitenreiter, whose team has only triumphed twice in 11 games during his time in office.Tom Lees has missed the last two games due to an MCL injury to his knee.

“We make our decision on Saturday morning based on how we feel in our gut, even though there are other options for the team to start.”

The German added: “We can always anticipate the willingness to defend together as a team.” He is probably going to choose players with a strong attitude and team ethic for a pivotal game in Town’s season.

The total number of goals surrendered this season, when viewing the entire campaign, is 74, with 38 goals given up in the first half. So, the issue is not brand-new.

“Relegation warfare requires composure and optimism. We can expect additional pressure on Saturday, and we need players who can perform under duress in a game that is crucial to both teams’ success. However, there are instances when you feel that certain guys don’t deserve to be encouraged and cheerful.

“We didn’t give the performance we desired against Swansea.

The first goal put us in an absolutely terrible situation. Individual behavior and a lack of desire (on the part of some players) to operate as a team, run backwards, and play defense were more important than team tactics.

“Some players didn’t seem to give it their all, but not all of them did. I could see why the audience were upset, and as coaches, we were also very upset following the show. This is not what I stand for.

GET MORE NEWS HERE