West Ham received a big boost tonight as reports came in that danger man striker Patrick Bamford was nowhere to be seen as the Leeds squad boarded a flight for London earlier.
A Leeds fan – ‘GoosePower’ – shared images on his personal Twitter account on Saturday that showed the squad at Leeds-Bradford Airport .
Marcelo Bielsa is clearly seen alone and it is understood that while Bamford, 28, wasn’t present, Pascal Struijk and Rodrigo were there.
Leeds have been involved heavily in reports over the last 24 hours that Bamford could return to the squad following injury but on the basis of the images that appears perhaps to be a case of smoke and mirrors.
He has has missed the majority of this season with concurrent ankle and hamstring injuries and Bielsa has remaind less than clear in his assessment of the player’s involvement.
He said at the outset of his pre-match presser that the striker will not be playing because he was stull short of match fitness. As shown on Leeds’ official Twitter account, Bielsa said Bamford’s “recovery still hasn’t been finalised”.
He then said later on that he, Struijk and Rodrigo but may well be involved but as things look today it seems Bamford is likely to be uninvolved at the London Stadium last featuring against Brentford on December 6.
And even if he does appear it should be remembered he’s been out of action for a month and has played just six Premier League games for two goals this term.
Raphina is the Leeds player that worries me most