Liam Cooper returns to full training for Leeds after forced absence

Leeds United skipper Liam Cooper has returned to full training after being forced to miss two weeks of action at Elland Road.

Although it wasn't confirmed, it was reported that the Whites enforcer had tested positive for COVID-19 after Marcelo Bielsa called it an illness.

Cooper missed Premier League games against Chelsea and Fulham, as well as the current international break with Scotland this month.

The Whites have released a training video on their YouTube channel on Friday, and it contained both indoor and outdoor drills at Thorp Arch.

Obviously, there weren't as many in the group with a large selection of our players currently away with their countries for the start of the World Cup qualifiers.

Cooper was in the thick of the action and has clearly returned to full training after his COVID-19 scare in the past fortnight.

As well as that, Patrick Bamford was missing and Robin Koch continued his recovery from injury alongside the likes of Raphinha and Luke Ayling.

Big boost.

Having waited all season for this, Marcelo Bielsa could finally have a full-strength squad to choose from should this international break go well.

Even though he is the captain, Cooper is surely facing an uphill battle to retain his spot with Pascal Struijk and Diego Llorente shining against Fulham and Chelsea.

Bielsa has shown great loyalty to the Scottish international in recent years, despite his critics growing by the week unfairly, we must say.

Cooper has been superb since promotion to the Premier League, and it will be interesting to see if he is brought in to replace the promising Struijk against Sheffield United.

The skipper has earned this right, and he will likely be back next month.

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