Luke Ayling will not be eligible to face his parent club on Monday as Leeds United travel to Middlesbrough.
Ayling made the loan switch to the Riverside in January and has been an instant hit with his assists since joining, having fallen way down the pecking order at Leeds under Daniel Farke.
Leeds face a huge match in their battle for automatic promotion when they face Boro, and after the recent blip, know that only a win will do to keep their hopes alive.
The Whites currently sit third in the table and are just a point adrift of Leicester City and two behind Ipswich Town, but with only three matches remaining, there can be no more slip-ups.
Here at LeedsUnited.news, we have predicted Leeds will need at least seven points to finish in the top two. With in-form Southampton to come on the final day, a victory needs to come at Boro.
Ampadu jokes Ayling can give Leeds a helping hand
Leeds actually held their end of season awards ceremony last night in which Ayling was invited to attend, despite the impending battle between his loan and parent club.
The reason for that was due to Ayling actually winning an award. Alongside fellow long-term servants Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas, he won the ‘Leeds United Special Achievement Award’.
Crysencio Summerville, Patrick Bamford and Ethan Ampadu were among the others who received recognition, with Leeds posting videos of the evening across their social media platforms.
Ampadu was asked on stage about the promotion run-in after receiving his award, where he spoke about the Boro game and how Ayling can give his former teammates a helping hand.
“It is very exciting. I have been in years where I have been trying to avoid relegation so this is an exciting pressure, one that all of us are working hard to achieve.
“We want to give you fans what you truly deserve and that starts on Monday against Boro, so hopefully Bill [Luke Ayling] can put in a good word for us. Preparation for that game, then we see what happens after that.”
Leeds, Leicester, Ipswich & Southampton run-ins compared
Both Leeds and Ipswich now have just three matches remaining this season, with Leicester and Southampton both having to play each other in their game in hand.
Leeds actually have a minor advantage over Ipswich in that they play twice, at Middlesbrough and QPR, before the Tractor Boys are back in action. Their next two matches are at Hull and Coventry City.
As mentioned, Leicester and Southampton face one another next Tuesday, but face matches with West Brom (H) and Cardiff City (A) respectively first. The former then travel to Preston North End, with the latter hosting Stoke City.
The final day sees a potentially monumental clash at Elland Road between Leeds and Southampton, while Ipswich and Leicester facing home matches against relegation battling Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers respectively.