Mark Smith

Thu 4 March 2021 11:05, UK

Graham Smyth has claimed that Leeds United defender Robin Koch could need a week or two of training before returning to action.

The German international has been missing since December after undergoing surgery on his knee, and will likely need under-23s action before returning to the first-team.

Marcelo Bielsa shared that Koch was back in training from this week, and Yorkshire Evening Post journalist, Smyth has given another timescale of when we could see him.

Writing on his personal Twitter account, Smyth claimed that Berardi’s quick return gives hope we could see Koch sooner.

“You’d anticipate a week or two of training first I’d have thought,” he wrote.

“Berardi was back in the 23s very quickly though wasn’t he?”

Berardi returned to action with 45 minutes for the under-23s against Crystal Palace on Monday afternoon and was his typical self after nearly a year on the sidelines.

Mark Jackson’s side faces Wolves tomorrow, and the Swiss enforcer is expected to be involved once again, maybe even completing 90 minutes this time.

Based on Smyth’s timescale, the clash with Wolves under-23s may come too early for Koch, though, who has had a whirlwind three months.

After arriving from Freiburg, the German international started every Premier League game until his injury in December and was a real force while others were injured.

It was then revealed that he was playing with a niggle the whole time, and this break could have given him the perfect time to recover fully.

When can we expect to see him?

After the Wolves fixture, the under-23s have a 10-day break until entertaining Newcastle at Thorp Arch – where we expect to see Koch fully involved.

In other Leeds United news, Bamford shares what referee told him after Aston Villa clash