Daniel Farke shares when Leeds United duo Patrick Bamford and Pascal Struijk will return from injury

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Ahead of the roller coaster that was Saturday afternoon’s 3-3 draw with Hull City, the Leeds United team sheet revealed that The Whites would be without Pascal Struijk and Patrick Bamford.

With Junior Firpo and Ilia Gruev already missing, losing two senior players will have been a blow to Daniel Farke and Leeds. Struijk was replaced by Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka started in midfield.

It clearly had an impact, as Leeds lost the defensive solidity of Struijk and the relationship he has formed with Joe Rodon at centre-back. With Ampadu moving into defence, it meant Leeds lost him in midfield.

Leeds conceded three goals for the second time in the Championship, as Hull came from 3-1 down to nab a point. With hindsight, Farke might have chosen to keep Ampadu in midfield on Saturday afternoon.

• READ MORE: Tony Dorigo says one player was to blame for Hull’s first goal, and it wasn’t Meslier

Daniel Farke delivers further update on Bamford and Struijk

Ahead of kick-off, it was reported that Bamford had a hamstring issue, Struijk an ankle problem. While losing Bamford is of course a blow, his lack of game time makes his absence not a big issue to deal with.

However, Struijk has captained Leeds for much of the campaign and him missing Saturday’s game was telling. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Farke gave an update on both Bamford and Struijk.

“Hope to have Struijk on the other side of the FA Cup break. Patrick is a hamstring injury, tried everything to get him ready for today but couldn’t, it is hard to assess the timeline,” Farke said on Saturday evening.

Patrick Bamford might have played his last game for Leeds

With Harrogate next up in the FA Cup, the third-round clash might have been the last obvious chance that Bamford will have had to start a game for Leeds amid reports Wrexham and Genoa want Bamford.

So, if the hamstring injury keeps him out beyond that and the chances are it will given his injury past, it might be that Bamford has played his last game for the club given he could end up leaving The Whites.

Farke has said that Bamford remains “crucial”, but he has reiterated a fit Bamford helps this side. When, realistically, was the last chance that Leeds and Farke had the chance to use a fit Bamford? Not for a while.