Daniel Farke shared a brand new injury update on his Leeds United squad ahead of Sunday’s play-off final with Southampton.
The Whites make the trip to Wembley this weekend looking to secure an immediate return to the Premier League having missed out on the top two during the latter stages of the season.
In order to get to this stage, though, Leeds were able to overcome the disappointment of how they ended the season by comprehensively dispatching Norwich City 4-0 in the semi-finals.
Farke was without a few key players that night, with Stuart Dallas, Pascal Struijk, Sam Byram and Patrick Bamford all missing out due to injury.
While Dallas and Struijk were ruled out for the season a long time ago, Byram was a late omission. Bamford, meanwhile, has been working to get fit for the last few weeks after picking up a knee injury at Middlesbrough last month.
Farke says he wishes he was able to pick Patrick Bamford
Aside from Dallas, who has already announced his retirement after over two years out injured, all of the players missing against the Canaries have something significant to offer the team.
Struijk’s set-piece presence at both ends, as well as his composure on the ball at the back has been a big miss. Byram, meanwhile is arguably Leeds’ most secure full-back when it comes to defending.
And although Bamford can frustrate with the number of chances he misses, Leeds have won 11 of the 15 league games he has started this season, which points to them being a better side when he is in it.
Bamford will not be available for Sunday’s final again, though, and speaking in his pre-match press conference, Farke has admitted he really wishes he was available.
He said: “I would have preferred to have Patrick available. It’s also important right now to face a reality. He is not there and it’s up to us to find some other solutions.
“I trust my whole group, there are no complaints or looking for excuses. I won’t speak about the starting line-up right now. We’ve found our rhythm back in the play-offs and want to show this on Sunday.”
Who can replace Bamford for Leeds?
Despite growing calls for Mateo Joseph to be handed an opportunity, Farke has persisted with Joel Piroe as Leeds’ number nine whenever Bamford has not been available.
It would be fair to say in a lot of matches that has not worked, with the 24-year-old particularly ineffective in defeats against Blackburn Rovers and QPR.
However, Piroe seems to have turned a corner since scoring on the final day against Sunday’s opponents, with his performance in the second leg win over Norwich the best he’s had in a white shirt.
With that in mind, it is unlikely Farke would’ve brought Bamford straight back in anyway, but he certainly would’ve been a nice option to have off the bench.