Leeds United have assured Lee Bowyer and Jonathon Woodgate their futures at the club are safe even if they are convicted of taking part in a suspected racial attack. The players returned to training yesterday on police bail after being arrested 24 hours earlier in connection with a street assault in Leeds city centre which left a 19-year-old Asian student with serious head injuries and a fractured leg.
The Premiership leaders are determined to take a hard line of action should either Bowyer or Woodgate be convicted of any offence, but they will not entertain the possibility of terminating the contracts of two of their most promising young players.
Instead, Leeds have already drawn up contingency plans to request the players voluntarily agree that the club be allowed to impose more than the maximum fine of two weeks' wages stipulated by the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).
In the meantime, both players, who have a combined value of around £20 million, will be considered for first-team duty by David O'Leary and are expected to take part in Sunday's televised league match at Sunderland.
"It is much too early to decide whether or not the players will be involved," said Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale, who will return to Elland Road today after a business trip to Hong Kong. "David is distressed and upset and he wants to get to the bottom of what happened. He is a strict disciplinarian, forever instilling in his young players what is acceptable and what is not.
"If either Lee Bowyer or Jonathon Woodgate is found guilty, the club will come down on them like a ton of bricks. We will act accordingly, because we do not allow our players to let down either themselves or the club. But what action, if any, will be decided only when the full version of events is known. I must stress that neither player has been charged and neither found guilty."
The attack occurred in the early hours of last Wednesday after an argument outside the Majestyk nightclub. The victim, Safras Najeib, a business student at Leeds Metropolitan University, was still "stable" in hospital last night.
The two players suspected of causing his injuries have been told to report back to Millgarth Police Station at a later date.
