Marcelo Bielsa has suggested that Pablo Hernandez is not close to returning to the Leeds United starting line-up despite a series of impressive displays.
Hernandez, 35, missed the defeat to Cardiff with an injury when the season restarted last month and since then he has only been used as a substitute by Bielsa.
On Thursday, he came off the bench at half-time to score and assist a goal in Leeds’ 5-0 thumping of Stoke but it seems Bielsa is happy to keep the Spaniard as a substitute for the time being.
“I don’t think it makes a lot of difference if he starts or not. It is clear it’s necessary to share the minutes between some players. Pablo is very important every time he goes on the pitch,” said Bielsa after the match on Thursday evening, as quoted by LeedsLive.
Bielsa’s right.
When you can make five substitutions in a match, the starting line-up is not really that important so whether or not Hernandez starts, is pretty irrelevant.
He played 45 minutes in the wins over Fulham and Stoke and 29 minutes in each of the games against Luton and Blackburn.
It is clear that the former Spain international can make a big enough impact in a short time on the pitch so why risk starting him when his fitness might not be 100 per cent?
From what we have seen – especially versus Stoke – Hernandez is more than fully fit but it’s a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
Why throw him into the starting line-up when the side is doing so well as it is?
In other Leeds United news, Adrian Durham is staggered by what he saw in Leeds’ win over Stoke.