Luke Ayling may replace Jamie Shackleton after returning to training
Marcelo Bielsa may bring Luke Ayling into his Leeds United playing XI after he has returned to light training.
This would mean that Jamie Shackleton, who’s proven to be an able deputy, may be dropped from the playing eleven.
While Ayling is unlikely to start this weekend against Wolves, he could be back for the October 31 clash against Norwich.
Via their official Twitter handle, Leeds posted a picture of Ayling back in training with a caption: “Another step closer.”
This probably means that while he’s back in training, he’s not quite ready to return to the starting eleven as of now, but could in a week’s time.
His return will have come as bad news to Shackleton who was enjoying an extended run of first-team minutes.
The 21-year-old started three Premier League games in the whole of last season and he’s already reached that number this time around.
He’s also come off the bench on three separate occasions – getting game time in six of eight league games for Bielsa’s side.
It’s clear that the Argentine has started to trust him and he has repaid the manager’s faith by putting in thrilling performances.
He’s also impressed teammate Adam Forshaw, who singled him out for praise after their win against Watford.
“Shacks has been brilliant again today,” he told LUTV. “Stuck to his task, does everything right, keeps the ball, no thrills, fantastic.”
However, Bielsa is known to trust his preferred first-team players to get the job done when fit and despite Shackleton’s performances, he could be dropped to make way for Ayling.
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