Matteo wary of rushing Leeds return

Dominic Matteo, the Leeds United captain, is determined to end "an awful season" with a return to the side next month to boost the club's bid for Premiership survival.

Matteo, who spent three months recovering from a knee injury earlier this season, is out with a hamstring problem, initially sustained in Leeds' last League win at home to West Ham United on 8 February. The 28-year-old had hoped to return for the recent matches at Manchester United and Sheffield United, only to break down with what he described as "a similar sort of injury".

Matteo is unlikely to be back in the frame until the trip to Charlton Athletic on 5 April at the earliest, so he will miss Sunday's match against his former club, Liverpool, at Anfield.

"For the next couple of weeks I am again going to have to work hard before building up my training slowly," Matteo said. "The games at Old Trafford and Bramall Lane were so vital that I desperately wanted to play, but now I am going to have to be sensible regarding my recovery.

"It has been an awful season. For the past two to three years I have been very lucky with injuries... but this time around it has been a stop-start affair. As captain, I really wanted to help out a lot more, but I haven't been able to do so."