Aston Villa could be set to receive a huge boost ahead of Leeds United clash

Jesse Marsch has provided Leeds United fans with a concerning update regarding the return of Patrick Bamford ahead of the clash with Aston Villa on Thursday.

Speaking to Leeds Live Marsch stated this regarding the possibility of Bamford playing in this fixture: "I don’t think Patrick’s ready to be on from the start, let’s see how the week goes but certainly I think he’ll be ready to put in some minutes come Thursday.

“Patrick is back in training, he will continue to progress more and more, we’ll get him fitter and fitter and sharper and sharper and then we will be able to rely on him in these 11 games.”

Bamford is a familiar foe for Villa, after scoring a hat-trick in the 3-0 win in the 2020/21 season at Villa Park, therefore outlining the huge boost Gerrard could receive if Bamford is limited to a smaller role in the fixture this Thursday.

In contrast to his impressive campaign last year, the English striker has only started five games so far this season after suffering injuries to both his ankle and hamstring throughout the season.

He did manage to make a return to action in December, where he came on as a substitute in the 68th minute and went on to score the equaliser against Brentford in the 95th minute. Outlining the threat he could pose to Villa's defence if he is involved.

However, just two days after his return, he suffered the previously mentioned hamstring injury that has kept him out until yesterday, where he made a return to the bench but was left as an unused substitute against Leicester City.

Marsch commented on his reasoning for bringing Tyler Roberts on instead of Bamford yesterday in his first game in charge of Leeds, where he stated: "Patrick was maximum 10 minutes, so obviously we want to get him