After Phillips and Cooper: Two more Leeds injury boosts emerge at Thorp Arch during int'l break

Leeds United correspondent Beren Cross has relayed claims suggesting Charlie Cresswell and Jamie Shackleton look set to return following the current international break.

The Whites were last in action against Newcastle United, where they were without eight first-team players.

Forshaw was one of those after limping off against West Ham the week before, but he has returned to training at Thorp Arch during the current break, according to Phil Hay.

Meanwhile, the club also shared pictures of Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper on the training pitch

And it seems as if Marcelo Bielsa could have two more injury boosts ahead of the trip to Aston Villa next week.

Cross ran a Q&A on LeedsLive on Tuesday evening to discuss a range of Elland Road topics with supporters.

He was asked by one fan for an update on the injury front, to which he said:

“On the injuries: Forshaw has recently said he is very hopeful of making it back for the Villa match, while Bielsa has previously said Cresswell and Shackleton would return on the other side of the international break. Bamford remains something of a mystery after Bielsa’s doubtful comments on the striker being back for the Villa game. Phillips and Cooper are slated for March returns, though there are high hopes the former could be back sooner than that.”

Bielsa already has a small squad and has been hit hard with the club’s injury woes this season, so Cresswell and Shackleton returning can only be seen as positive news.

Cresswell has made five senior appearances this season whereas the versatile Shackleton has turned out on 13 occasions, with both missing the last four league games.

They may not be regulars from the off under Bielsa, however, the two returns will certainly strengthen the bench,