Patrick Bamford has been speaking to The Official Leeds Utd Podcast about his return to full fitness.
The 28-year-old endured a difficult 2021/22 campaign, making just nine Premier League appearances as he struggled with a number of injuries.
Fortunately, Bamford was fit enough to start the 2-1 win over Wolves, and was able to play 28 minutes of the 2-2 draw against Southampton.
However, the England international has now suffered a “slight” setback.
What’s the story?
Well, Bamford told The Official Leeds Utd Podcast that he will “probably” miss Sunday’s meeting with Chelsea at Elland Road due to a “slight groin injury”.
The Leeds No.9 said: “I’ve got a slight groin injury, so I’ll probably miss, maybe, the Chelsea game, but I think it’s just part and parcel of coming back. I barely played last year, barely trained actually. I reckon the amount of times I trained from when I first got injured, to the end of the season, was probably less than ten.”
That isn’t what the Leeds supporters wanted to hear.
Ironically, this episode of The Official Leeds Utd Podcast was titled ‘Bamford is back’ – talk about jinxing it.
Of course, Bamford claims it is only a “slight” issue, although we heard that plenty of times last season before the £7m man ended up missing a number of games.
Leeds need to sign competition for Patrick Bamford
In our view, Leeds need one more striker to help ease the burden on Bamford.
Clearly, Jesse Marsch needs to be careful with his No.9 and ensure he doesn’t overwork him, so a rotational option is needed at Elland Road.
If Bamford ends up missing large chunks of the season again, Leeds could either find themselves battling relegation once more, or they simply won’t fulfil the potential their season holds.
Leeds are said to be interested in Marseille forward Bamba Dieng, so it seems Victor Orta is aware of the need for a new striker.
Keep an eye on this situation, as we expect Leeds to bring in a new centre-forward.
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