Patrick Bamford’s injury woes could open door for ‘frightening’ Leeds United prospect

Add as preferred source on Google

Leeds United are aiming to continue their push for promotion after a successful few months for Daniel Farke’s side.

Having not lost since November, when Leeds play Coventry City, the Whites will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to 13 games.

It will not be easy for United, as Coventry have found a rich vein of form under new manager Frank Lampard and have won their last four games.

Leeds battered Cardiff 7-0 last time out, with both Mateo Joseph and Joel Piroe getting on the scoresheet for the Whites, suggesting that Daniel Farke has two on-form strikers to choose from.

They will be missing one of their attacking options, however. Farke confirmed that Patrick Bamford will be absent, as the striker continues his recovery from injury, something that has become more common than not for the one-time England international.

Bamford has battled consistent injury issues at Leeds

Clearly a much respected and well-liked figure in the team, Bamford has scarcely featured for the Whites this season, having made just 10 appearances from the bench for a grand total of 123 minutes of action.

While a lot of that is due to the emergence of Joseph and the signing of Piroe last season, injuries have meant that Bamford has had little chance to show why he should be in the team, something that has hampered him throughout his time at Elland Road.

Bamford’s consistent misfortune means that he has never had ample time to return to full form for Leeds.

It could be argued that Bamford’s last impressive campaign for the Whites came during their return to the Premier League in the 2020/21 season.

Understandably, fans have questioned whether Bamford has a long-term future at Leeds, particularly because of a certain young talent in their ranks, patiently waiting in the wings for a chance.

Could Harry Gray feature for United this season?

Earlier this year, young striker Harry Gray returned from injury, having missed seven months of the term after suffering an injury in pre-season.

The younger brother of midfielder Archie Gray, now of Tottenham Hotspur, Gray has been called “frightening” by Aaron Lennon, a former Leeds winger, in the past.

Still just a teenager, Gray evidently has a keen eye for goal and it did not take long for him to get back to scoring ways after returning to the team.

It was a quiet winter window for Leeds, who signed no players in January. As such, they run the risk of lacking depth should one of Piroe or Joseph go down with an injury, given Bamford’s fitness struggles.

Perhaps, then, an injury to one of Farke’s two striking options would open the door for Gray to, at the very least, gain some experience from the bench.