Mark Smith

Sat 26 February 2022 9:00, UK

Phil Hay has shared that Leeds United duo Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper won’t be far from returning against Aston Villa.

That is despite Marcelo Bielsa worryingly admitting his expected return of early March for both may be premature.

Hay also shared that he has been told that Patrick Bamford is doing well despite not yet returning to the grass at Thorp Arch.

Writing in his pre-match Q&A for The Athletic (26 February) Hay responded to worried fans after the press conference.

“I don’t think they’ll be far off that date,” he said.

“They’re both doing well (as is Bamford I’m told). But it’ll come down to whenever Bielsa thinks they’re ready. It’s his call.”

Here we go.

Now, we’re not sure what Bielsa was playing at yesterday, but noises from elsewhere all suggest that two of the three could be back very soon.

It may be that El Loco was hoping to have them at Leicester next week, but will instead be forced to wait until Aston Villa on the following Thursday.

Bamford doing well is also brilliant news, and hopefully once the niggle in his foot is healed, he will be straight back into training, given that it looks more of an impact blow than a muscle strain.

That is the case of Cooper and Phillips, who both had hamstring problems, the worst kind of blow to have during the season.

Leeds are desperate for these three to return, and it looks as though they will be thrown straight into the firing line of a relegation battle.

All three will be watching on against Spurs this afternoon, but no doubt they could be back sooner rather than later in March.

In other Leeds United news, Jeff Stelling has shared what he has been told about the injury blow to Patrick Bamford over the past week