By David Woods

12th Mar, 2021 | 6:30pm

View: Return of Koch is brilliant news for Leeds

Marcelo Bielsa finally dropped the news that all Leeds United fans have been waiting – Robin Koch is back and ready for action.

Koch has been out for 16 games and hasn’t started since the beginning of December.

The game against Chelsea will come too soon for him. Bielsa likes to put his returning stars back into the Under-23s first and said that Koch would probably play with the second-string side on Monday.

That game, against Newcastle, plays out at Thorp Arch and it will be one of the most-watched Under-23s games of the season, with Leeds fans desperate to see Koch back in action.

We’ll also be desperate for him to get through the 45 minutes that he’s likely to get.

We think Koch will then play another 45 minutes for the Under-23s the following Monday before targetting a return to the first-team after the international break, against Sheffield United on April 3.

That gives Diego Llorente two games to prove that he should be one of Bielsa’s first-choice centre-backs.

To do that he will have to cope better with set pieces. He could be up against Olivier Giroud on Saturday and that certainly won’t be an easy task.

Koch himself will be desperate to get back in the Leeds side as soon as possible with the upcoming Euros. He’s been a regular for Germany but will need to prove his fitness to Joachim Löw.

We think he’s still one of the two centre-backs that Bielsa wants to use in the long-term and we can’t wait to see him back out on the grass.

In other Leeds United news, Chris Kamara shares class email he received from Marcelo Bielsa – Leeds fans will love this