Sport nationPatrick Bamford’s injury woes continue to plague Leeds United, with the striker unlikely to feature before the playoffs due to a “very severe” knee injury. This news will definitely be putting the coach in distress
According to Graham Smyth of the Yorkshire Evening Post, Bamford’s knee is proving difficult to heal, and the club is doing everything in their power to get him ready for the playoffs.
Smyth shared on the Inside Elland Road podcast: “His knee is proving, unfortunately, difficult to heal. Right at this point of the season. Given everything he’s been through with injuries in the past two years, to get to this point and to be kept out by a bruise is just unthinkable.”
Bamford’s season has been a topic of conversation throughout, starting with an injury that kept him out of the early games before making himself almost undroppable over the winter period with some impressive displays. However, he appears to be ending the season the way he started it, with an injury keeping him out of the crucial clash with Southampton.
Leeds need to win this game to have any hope of reaching the automatic promotion place, but with Ipswich’s advantage, it would take a defeat for the Tractor Boys against a Huddersfield side whose goal difference means they are all but relegated, along with a Leeds win, to send them up without the playoffs. However, the more likely outcome is that Leeds are condemned to the knockout competition in which they have a haunting record, and they will need their first-choice striker fit and firing to try and turn those fortunes around.
As Smyth noted, “The Middlesbrough game was almost two full weeks ago, so the bruise is obviously a very severe knock. They are trying everything to get him ready, I think they’re trying to get him ready for the playoffs. I don’t think we’ll see him until the playoffs.”
This is a significant blow for Leeds, as Bamford has been instrumental in their success this season. His absence was felt in the recent draw with Middlesbrough, and his goalscoring ability will be sorely missed in the playoffs.
Manager Daniel Farke has done an excellent job at Elland Road, but even he cannot magic up a solution to Bamford’s injury woes. Farke shared in his press conference ahead of the clash with Southampton that Bamford continues to struggle with the knee bruise and has not trained, leaving fans worried about his availability for the playoffs.
Leeds United’s fate is now out of their hands, and they must rely on Ipswich slipping up if they are to achieve automatic promotion. However, with Bamford’s injury casting a shadow over the team, the playoffs look like the most likely route to promotion.
In other Leeds United news, a “massive” Farke verdict has emerged at Elland Road, with the manager praising his team’s efforts this season despite the disappointment of potentially missing out on automatic promotion.
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